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FAIRY STORIES 

AND 

WONDER TALES 


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vVORN 


OUT WITH THE TOIL OF THE 
HIS CAT ON HIS LAP.” 


1)AV, 


SAT WITH 




FAIRY STORIES 

AND 

WONDER TALES 


BY 

DR THOMAS DUNN ENGLISH 


ILLUSTRATED BY 

ELIZABETH S, TUCKER 


Hew iJorft 

Frederick A* Stokes Company 



TWO rnpirc arrnvFn 



Copyright, J897 

By Frederick A* Stokes Company 


/2.-3Z.1 06'* 


Print td in Amtrica. 


PREFACE. 


The author of the following Fairy Stories and 
Wonder Tales has long been known throughout the 
world as the writer of a much admired song of half 
a century ago, as well as the author of poems of far 
greater merit, and as novelist, playwright and jour- 
nalist. The tales in this volume, gathered up with 
his consent from various periodical publications, 
represent but a small part of Dr. English’s contri- 
bution to Child Literature, and testify to his suc- 
cess in this department and to the wholesomeness 
of his writings for the young. 

If the impression made upon my own mind by 
reading these stories as they first appeared in print, 
be any criterion of the manner in which they were 
received by others, my desire to have them col- 
lected and published in this volume needs no other 
explanation. That some of them have been trans- 
lated into other languages is perhaps further evi- 
dence of the interest awakened by them in their 
original form and that they are deserving of the 
permanence now given them. 


Preface, 


To the publishers of the various periodicals in 
which these tales first reached the public, and who 
have so courteously consented to this present use 
of them, and especially to Messrs. Harper & Broth- 
ers, The Century Company and The Nezv York In- 
dependent, I hereby make my most grateful acknowl- 
edgments. 

Florence English Noll. 


To the Memory 
of 

MY MOTHER 

ANNIE MAXWELL ENGLISH 

(June 17ih, 1888) 

whose approval these tales had won 
in their earlier form 
this volume is affectionately dedicated 
F. E. N. 


















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CONTENTS. 


I. Pambookat, {Harper's Magazine .) , . i 

II* The Axe of Ranier, (St. Nicholas .) # 32 

III* Didoze, (-A^. Y. Independent .) . # *54 

IV. Jokkoree, (St. Nicholas .) „ . . 75 

V. The Black Cat, (Harper's Magazine.) . 90 

VI. The Three Gifts, (6V. Nicholas.) , 106 

VII. Jack the Terrible, (-V. K Independent.) * 125 

VIII. Prince Labour, (-V. K Independent.) , 137 

IX. Strongarm, (-V. K Independent.) * , 159 

X. The Boy who Lost his Head, (Bergen 

Democrat.) , , # 

XI. Timbertop and Betsian, (N. Y. Independ- 

ent , ) 183 

XII. Dunnohoo, (N. V. Independent .) * 196 

XIII* Roleyboley and his Comrades, (N Y. In- 

pendent.) % # 4 . .216 

XTV. The Green Gnome, (The Old Guard.) . 229 

XV. The Turned Loaf, (Jones's Monthly.) , 241 

XVI. The Grey Wizard, (N. Y. Independent .) 262 

XVII. Runphast, (The Old Guard . ) . * ♦ 277 








LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 


“Hubert, worn out with the toil of the day, sat with his cat 

on his lap," ♦ . ♦ ♦ . Frontispiece u 

“Manjal is, plucking a rosebud from a vase, dropped it at his 

feet," • • • « • • 11 v 

“'It shall not be my fault/ said Steelbody, 'if you do not 

stay with me a very long time/ " ♦ * 83 ^ 

“ There sat the King on his throne, but concealed partly by 

a great cobweb," • • « • • 168 

“And it so befell that both got back at the same minute," • 181 

44 Phlihi took off his coat and held it over his head," . 225 " 

“ The Wizard, bearing the Lady Isaula in his arms, plunged 

into the recess," ♦ • . . » 272 


FAIRY TALES. 


L 

Pambookat. 

Once upon a time there lived on the banks 
of the Asahan, a river of Sumatra, a young 
fisherman whose name was Pambookat. The 
parents of Pambookat died before he arrived 
at the age of manhood, and had bequeathed 
to their son a cottage, a rood of ground, a 
net, and a small boat. The young man, who 
was of an industrious habit and cheerful dis- 
position, alternately cultivated his ground and 
fished with his net, and so managed to obtain 
a tolerable livelihood. Thus he lived for sev- 
eral months after his parents death, and thus 
he would have continued to live, doubtless, 
had not a near neighbour, whose name was 
Risau, cast an eye of longing on his little 


2 


Fairy Tales. 


possessions. Risau was wealthy, but covet- 
ous, and having many servants ready to obey 
his commands, came one day, while poor Pam- 
bookat was absent upon the river, pulled 
down his cabin, destroyed his fences, burned 
the greater part of his rude furniture and up- 
rooted every plant in his garden. When the 
fisherman returned at night, and saw the des- 
olation which had been spread during his ab- 
sence, he was sorely grieved. But what could 
he do ? A pitying neighbour told him who 
had been the aggressor, and Pambookat felt 
that in a contest with an antagonist so power- 
ful he could obtain no redress. So he gath- 
ered together what little remnant of property 
had escaped the notice of the spoiler, placed 
it in his boat, and sailed down the river he 
knew not wither. In about half an hour’s 
time he arrived at the mouth of the stream, 
and fastening his boat to the projecting roots 
of a tree that protruded from the bank, he 
drew his cloak around him, covered himself 
with the sail, and went to sleep. 

It was broad day when Pambookat awoke. 
The sun was shining brightly, and the breeze 


Pambookat* 


3 


was setting in from the sea. He sat up and 
reflected on his situation. Suddenly he heard 
a twittering noise, and, looking up, beheld a 
white bird, in shape like a dove, with scarlet 
feet and a blue bill, which was apparently tied 
to a bough overhead. The bird was evi- 
dently in pain, and the heart of Pambookat 
was moved to pity. With much difficulty he 
managed to climb the tree and release the 
bird, which immediately flew away. This 
done, he descended and put out to sea, where 
he made several casts with his net. Fortune 
favoured him, and he caught a goodly number 
of fine fish. These he took to a village not 
far from the mouth of the river, and there 
sold. By this means he obtained his break- 
fast, and was enabled to hire an apartment 
in the cottage of an old man named Bareeda. 
Here he dwelt for several months, and by in- 
dustry and frugality managed somewhat to 
mend his fortune. 

One evening, as he was returning from his 
daily labour with his net on his shoulder, he 
met with a beautiful lady, who called him by 
name. Seeing by her manner and dress that 


4 Fairy Tales* 

she was of high rank, Pambookat bowed, and 
awaited her commands. 

“ Pambookat ! ” said the lady, “you once 
did me a service, though you know it not, and 
I am come to repay you. The bird tied to a 
bough on the bank of the Asahan was myself. 

I am a fairy, and my name is Pundapatan. 
My bitter enemy, Gurgasi, a goblin of great 
power, had overcome me, and succeeded in 
changing me to a bird, in which condition I 
was to remain until I should be released by 
our good queen, Salidk. Though we fairies 
in our own condition do not suffer death, yet 
we partake of the condition of the animals 
into which we change ourselves, or are 
changed by others. Had I died in such a 
state, being deprived of my immortality, I 
should have been utterly annihilated. To se- 
cure such a catastrophe, Gurgasi fastened me 
to the bough of a tree, intending that I should 
starve to death. There it was that you first 
saw me. Your heart was touched with pity 
at my forlorn condition and you released me. 
I know of your distresses, occasioned by the 
wickedness of Risau. I am here expressly to 


Pambookat* 


5 


serve you. Take this iron ring which will 
just fit your finger. Travel from here to the 
great kingdom of Zanguebar, in order to seek 
your fortune. When you need me rub that 
ring, utter the word ‘ Kerafia ! ’ and I will at 
once place myself at your command. Do not 
fear to ask me any favour when I appear, 
however apparently impossible.” 

After these words the fairy vanished ; and 
Pambookat, after musing a few moments upon 
the extraordinary communication he had just 
received, made his way to the house. 

The next day the young man, having de- 
termined to heed the counsel of the fairy, 
sold his boat and net, and took passage in a 
proa which was bound for Zanguebar. He 
arrived at the chief city of that kingdom on 
the seventh day, and took lodgings at the 
house of a loquacious old fellow by the name 
of Petak. From his host he learned that the 
Princess Elok, who was the eldest daughter 
of the King, was soon to be married to Prince 
Moodah, the only son and heir of Mulya the 
Magnificent, who reigned over the kingdom 
of Yemen. The old man told him farther 


6 


Fairy Tales* 


that the goblin Gurgasi had desired her hand, 
but that King Kochak, who was surnamed 
the Arrogant, had spurned his suit with dis- 
dain. On this account the goblin, with an 
apparently whimsical malice, had carried off 
every tailor and seamstress in the kingdom. 
At first this was laughed at by all but the im* 
mediate friends and relatives of the abducted 
people as a very silly sort of revenge ; but as 
its reason became gradually apparent, men 
ceased even to smile. In truth, the robbery, 
at that juncture, became a matter of serious 
annoyance. It was necessary to provide the 
Princess and her large array of bridesmaids 
with new and appropriate robes ; and the 
King, in order to add effect to her marriage 
festivities, desired to reclothe his entire army. 
Then the courtiers and wealthy citizens were 
anxious to display new and costly dresses in 
honour of the joyful occasion. All this was 
now impossible, and the beggarly appearance 
of the court and people, with their old and 
shabby dresses, would be a source of amuse- 
ment to the well-dressed lords who were ex- 
pected in the train of the bridegroom. 


Pambookat. 


7 


Pambookat listened attentively to the ac- 
count, and then asked what would be done 
for him who would extricate the King from 
his dilemma, and the kingdom from the im- 
pending mortification. 

“ Without doubt,” replied the old man, 
“ the King would reward him greatly, and he 
would become the chief subject of the king- 
dom. But it is scarcely possible, unless Gur- 
gasi speedily relents, to make over two hun- 
dred thousand new dresses in the course of 
one month, at the end of which time the Prince 
will arrive. It has been proposed to offer the 
young and beautiful princess, Manjalis, the 
sister of Elok, to the goblin as a wife ; but 
she has beseeched her father not to give her 
up to Gurgasi, who has but one eye, and that 
on the top of his forehead — has a long, thin 
nose, shaped like a radish — and is still more 
disfigured by two fangs which grow out of 
his under jaw and curl upward.” 

“ Is the Princess Manjalis so handsome, 
then ? ” inquired Pambookat. 

“ She is as beautiful as a lily in the water,” 
was the reply ; “ and so amiable that she is 


8 Fairy Tales* 

beloved by all her attendants, who almost 
worship her.” 

“ I should like to see this wonderful beauty,” 
said Pambookat. 

“ Nothing more easy,” replied Petak. “ Al- 
though I am an ordinary subject of the King, 
yet my sister, who is bedridden in the house, 
was the nurse of the Princess, who visits her 
weekly. To-morrow is her day for coming. 
Remain at home, and I will pass you off as 
my bond-servant. She always lays aside her 
veil during her visits, and you will have an 
opportunity to behold her. But if she ask 
you any questions, remember to answer 
that you are my slave, lest otherwise you 
get both yourself and me into serious diffi- 
culty.” 

Pambookat remained at home on the fol- 
lowing day, and the Princess came as the old 
man had said. When she saw Pambookat 
she would have retained her veil, but learning 
that the young man was one of the house- 
hold, she removed it. Pambookat was struck 
with her beauty, and quite bewildered with 
the excess of her charms. Manjalis entered 


Pambookat* 


9 


into conversation with the old man, and dis- 
played so much wit and sense that she com- 
pleted the conquest already begun. She 
seemed no less struck by the manner and ap- 
pearance of the supposed slave, and entered 
into conversation with him, asking him numer- 
ous questions concerning his native place, his 
age, and how he came into such a condition, 
to all of which he answered so as to confirm 
the representations of Petak. She soon be- 
gan to conceive a warm affection for him, 
but, after the manner of a prudent young 
maiden, endeavoured to conceal it. Afterward 
she visited her nurse’s chamber, where she 
remained during some time, and then departed, 
leaving Pambookat dissatisfied with a condi- 
tion which interposed barriers between him 
and the object of his love. 

Every week the visit was repeated, and on 
the day when the Princess was expected Pam- 
bookat remained at home. Thus passed away 
three weeks. On the fourth time that he 
met her the young fisherman observed that 
the Princess wore a very sad countenance, 
and ventured to inquire if she were ill, 


io Fairy Talcs. 

“ No, good Pambookat,” answered the Prin- 
cess, with a sad smile. “ I am well enough, 
but I share the chagrin which my father and 
the whole Court feel, as they reflect on the 
forlorn appearance they will make at the com- 
ing nuptials of my sister with Prince Moodah ; 
and I am sad for myself, since they propose 
to summon that hateful goblin, Gurgasi, and 
to bribe him with my hand to return all those 
people whom he now keeps imprisoned in 
a great cavern of Mount Caucasus. If he 
accede, how shall I resist ? Have I not cause 
for sadness at a prospect so fearful ? ” 

“ And what would you do for the man who 
would save you from your threatened disas- 
ter?” inquired Pambookat. 

11 1 would give him any thing in my power 
to bestow,” answered the Princess. 

“Even if I were he?” questioned the 
young man. 

Manjalis flushed, and quickly dropped her 
veil. “You are only a slave,” she replied; 
“ and the King, my father, would never con- 
sent.” 

“But if he did?” persisted Pambookat 





Pambookat. 


ii 


Manjalis said nothing ; but plucking a rose- 
bud from a vase which stood by, dropped it 
at his feet, and, turning, sought the apartment 
of her old nurse. When she came out she 
looked anxiously around the apartment, but 
Pambookat was gone. 

The next morning, at a public audience 
given by the King, there appeared a young 
man in humble dress who desired to have an 
interview with his Majesty, apart from all 
others. Kochak looked amazed at the bold 
request, and scrutinised the applicant closely. 
But as he saw nothing sinister in the aspect 
of Pambookat — for it was he who made the 
demand — he consented. When the pungadu- 
pan, or presence-chamber, was cleared of all 
but the guard, who remained at the extremity 
of the apartment, the monarch commanded 
the other to speak. 

“O King!” said Pambookat, prostrating 
himself on the purmadani, or carpet, which 
was in front of the throne, “ I propose, with 
your royal permission, to prepare all the new 
clothing required by your royal daughters and 
their attendants, your army, your courtiers, 


12 Fairy Tales* 

and your chief citizens, before the arrival of 
Prince Moodah.” 

“Well,” said the King, laughing, “this is a 
modest proposition truly.” 

“ On my head be it,” was the reply. “ If I 
fail, let my life be forfeited. If I succeed — ” 

“You can name your own reward,” inter- 
rupted Kochak ; “ but the proposition is pre- 
posterous, There is but a week’s time, and 
all the tailors and seamstresses of which Gur- 
gasi has deprived me could not now effect 
it. If I seek to obtain them back, it is only 
to deliver them from their sad condition, and 
to furnish my daughters and their immediate 
attendants with new robes. More than that 
is now impossible.” 

“Nevertheless, O King!” persisted Pam- 
bookat, “ let me at least make the trial.” 

“ So be it,” said the King. “ An apartment 
shall be assigned you in the palace ; all the 
materials you require shall be furnished, and a 
thousand slaves, if you need them, placed 
at your disposal. But if you succeed, you 
are certainly the most wonderful of all tai- 
lors.” 


Pambookat. 


13 


“ May it please the King,” replied Pamboo- 
kat, 44 I am no tailor, but a fisherman.” 

44 Worse and worse,” said the monarch. “ I 
give you leave to withdraw your proposition. 
You had better consider well, for if you un- 
dertake the matter and fail, you shall lose 
your head.” 

44 I shall consult a friend, and answer your 
Majesty to-morrow,” said Pambookat, and left 
the audience. 

That night he summoned the fairy, and de- 
sired her to release the workmen from the 
thrall of the goblin. 

44 What you ask,” replied the fairy, 44 is be- 
yond my power ; but I can serve you as well 
by providing you with workmen and work-wo- 
men better than those abducted.” 

So the fairy instructed him what he must do. 

The next day, Pambookat having adhered 
to his proposition, the large audience hall at 
the palace, which was a hundred g&zas broad, 
and a hundred and fifty long, was filled at one 
extremity with silks, laces, velvets, and mus- 
lins. At the other end were the King and 
royal family, attended by the eunuchs of the 


14 Fairy Talcs. 

puradiian , the guards, and the principal offi- 
cers of the Court. 

“ I shall show you, O King ! ” said Pamboo- 
kat, “ that the malice of Gurgasi is idle ; for 
the fairy who is my friend has promised that 
the work required shall be done in time, 
and that your Majesty shall see it in prog- 
ress.” 

“ She promises well,” said Kochak, strok- 
ing his chumbang as he spoke. u Let us see 
her perform.” 

Pambookat advanced into the centre of the 
room, and said, as he rubbed the ring on his 
finger, “ Kerana ! ” 

At the word there was a faint whirring noise, 
the floor of the palace opened, and the fairy 
Pundapatan arose, and made her obeisance to 
the King, who trembled, for he saw she wa-< 
one of the chundra , or immortals. 

Pundapatan waved her wand thrice, and 
stamped on the floor, when there arose ten 
square boxes made of kayn-boodi , or wisdom- 
wood, and each beautifully polished. She 
tapped each box with her wand, when they 
sunk again, but left in their stead ten young 


Pambookat* 


women with beautiful features, but pale of face 
and delicate of frame. 

“ O sisters of the needle ! ” said the fairy, 
“ obey her who called you to being, you and 
all your sisters of the needle ! ” 

“To hear is to obey!" was the answer. 
Then the ten sisters stamped upon the floor, 
and before each of them arose ten black gob- 
lins, each of whom had one arm of iron and 
one of silver, and the silver arm had a needle 
in its fingers. Singular to say, the needle 
bore its thread near the point instead of at 
the head, and was fed from a great roll of 
thread on the goblin’s shoulder. Each of the 
young women suddenly seized silk, velvet, or 
muslin, as happened to come the nearest, and 
cutting it the required shape, gave it to one 
of the goblins, and so continued to do. The 
goblins began to sew with the rapidity of 
lightning, and garment after garment was 
completed to the great wonder of the specta- 
tors. Still the work went on, long after the 
King and the Court had retired — robe, gown, 
baju, sikapan, kabayu, jubah, and sacotar ac- 
cumulated in high piles ; and thousands of 


i6 


Fairy Tales* 

slaves were kept busy, hour after hour, in re- 
moving these and distributing them among 
those for whom they were destined. 

At length the nuptial-day arrived — all the 
required garments had been provided — and 
when the Prince Moodah arrived, and rode 
into the city with his train, his followers 
wondered at the splendid dresses of the peo- 
ple, and declared that so much costly and ele- 
gant apparel had never before been seen, not 
even at the Court of Mulya the Magnificent. 

When the nuptials were over King Ko- 
chak sent for Pambookat, and after presenting 
him with the most splendid robe wrought by 
the goblins, and girding a costly padang, or 
sword, to his side, caused the royal bundara , 
or treasurer, to pay him a thousand pieces 
of gold, and asked him to name any reward 
he chose for his great service. 

“ O King, live forever ! ” said Pambookat, 
prostrating himself on the purmadani. “ I 
ask the hand of your second daughter, the 
Princess Manjalis.” 

“Truly,” replied the King, “my word is 
pledged, and shall be kept. But you had bet- 


Pambookat. 


*7 


ter demand her younger sister, for it is an an- 
cient law of the realm that he who marries 
the first or second daughter of the King, 
unless he be a king or a king’s son, shall be 
put to death upon the day of his nuptials, 
and I will not repeal the law.” 

Pambookat departed to his home in great 
grief, and summoned the fairy. She bade 
him go to the kingdom of Yemen, which 
would further his happiness, and with those 
words she vanished. 

The young man prepared at once for his 
departure, and engaged passage with one 
Bajag, who passed for an honest trader, but 
whose vessel was in reality a piratical proa, 
and himself a leader of a band of orang-laut y 
or pirates, who made descents upon the neigh- 
bouring coasts and carried off much booty. 
As Pambookat had no choice, there being but 
the one vessel on the coast, he contracted with 
Bajag, who agreed, in return for ten pieces of 
gold, to convey him to the chief sea-port of 
Yemen. 

The night before his departure he walked 
out and stood before the King’s palace. 


i8 


Fairy Tales. 

While there he heard a voice singing in an 
upper chamber, and knew it to be that of the 
Princess. The words of the pantung , or quat- 
rain, that she sung, showed him that she was 
aware of his presence. They were these : 

“ If first you go, then seek for me 
A leaf from the Kamboja-tree ; 

If first you die, then patient wait 
For me at Paradise’s gate.” 

The lattice opened when the song ceased, and 
a package fell at the feet of Pambookat. He 
opened it. There were inclosed a cinder and 
a feather, bound together with hair, which 
meant, in the language of lovers, “ I burn for 
you. Take me, and fly.” He took up a twig 
lying near and thrust it in the ground, signify- 
ing that she should wait and remain faithful, 
and then, after kissing his hand to her, de- 
parted. 

The next morning Pambookat embarked 
with Bajag, and after ten days’ sail arrived at 
the chief city of Yemen, where, in the char- 
acter of a young man travelling for pleasure, 
he took lodgings at the house of an old man 
named Kullunggara. 


Pambookat* 


19 


The host of Pambookat was very curious 
and inquisitive concerning the origin of his 
guest, but the young man prudently kept his 
own counsel. Finding that he could learn 
nothing by direct queries, the old man then 
began to tell something : the next pleasure, 
after receiving information, being that of im- 
parting it to others. Among other matters 
he mentioned that Galak the Ferocious, who 
reigned over the kingdom of Sind, had re- 
belled against King Mulya, to whom he had 
been tributary, and that the latter had been 
unable thus far to reduce his former vassal to 
subjection. 

“ But,” said Pambookat, “ I had always 
heard that Mulya was one of the most power- 
ful of monarchs. Has he not experienced 
generals, and a large army, and can he not 
overcome a country like Sind ? ” 

“ Nature fights for Galak,” replied the other. 
“ For between Yemen and Sind there lies a 
esert which is a seven-days' journey 
It is covered with a pestilential va- 
those who are exposed to it more 
:y-four hours become so weakened 


20 Fairy Talcs* 

and diseased that the greater part die at the 
close of their journey. So it has chanced 
that, of the armies that have gone there, but 
few survived at the end of the march, and 
those so weak that the troops of Galak easily 
overcame them.” 

“The King would doubtless well reward 
the man who could take an army safely to 
Sind?” said Pambookat. 

“He has offered,” replied the host, “to 
give the conquerer the throne of Sind, and to 
release him from all tribute. But now that 
four armies have been destroyed no one will 
venture.” 

“ I could overcome Galak easily,” said Pam- 
bookat. 

Kulunggara was so overjoyed at having 
something to tell, that he forthwith repeated 
the remark of his lodger at the nearest rumah- 
kahwah , or coffee-house, from whence it 
travelled from mouth to mouth until it finally 
reached the King. 

The next day after the arrival of Pam- 
bookat, a pukkiriman , or messenger, was 
sent to command the presence of the stranger 


Pambookat* 


21 


in the royal palace. Pambookat thereupon 
arrayed himself in his robe of honour, thrust 
his sword in his belt, and set out to the palace 
of Mulya, where the pungawals , or guards, at 
once conducted him to the King, who was 
seated on his throne, surrounded by his viziers 
and the officers of the Court. After the cus- 
tomary prostrations, Pambookat confessed, in 
reply to the question of the King, that he 
had made the remark attributed to him. 

“ Were I to take you at your word,” said 
Mulya, “ what security have I that the army 
which I might place at your orders would 
reach Sind in safety?” 

“ That is only to be seen by the event,” re- 
plied Pambookat. 

The King and his viziers conferred to- 
gether, and at length Bijak, the chief vizier, 
spoke. 

“ His Majesty is pleased at your audacity,” 
said he ; “ but know ye, O stranger ! that he 
who aspires to combat with an enemy should 
give some token of courage and wisdom.” 

“ It is just, O Vizier ! ” replied Pambookat, 
“and I am ready to prove both.” 


22 


Fairy Tales* 

Now there had been brought, the day be- 
fore, from the forest where he had been cap- 
tured, a huge tiger, who was then in a cage of 
iron in the courtyard of the palace. And 
Bijak proposed that Pambookat should enter 
the cage, and confront the brute. 

“ I accept the task,” said Pambookat ; “ and 
I only ask to be first left alone for a moment 
in a chamber.” 

This was acceded to, though the courtiers 
smiled at his confidence, and predicted to each 
other that he would be speedily torn to pieces 
and devoured. However, so soon as he was 
without witnesses, Pambookat summoned the 
fairy, and told her what he was expected to 
do. She waved her wand thrice, and stamp' 
ing her foot there rose a fairy who seemed to 
be asleep, and who bore in her hand a flask of 
gold and a sponge, around which was wrapped 
a clean linen cloth. 

“ Take these,” said the fairy. “ As you en- 
ter the cage pour the contents of the flask on 
the sponge, wrap the cloth loosely around it, 
and before the animal can recover from his 
surprise apply it to his nostrils. He will be- 


Pambookat. 


*3 


come powerless for a few minutes, and you 
can do with him as you choose,” 

Having said this, the fairy and her attend- 
ant disappeared. 

The guards now came and conducted Pam- 
bookat to the courtyard, where all the Court 
had assembled. Pambookat entered the 
cage, and the tiger, astounded at his audacity, 
crouched for a moment in a corner, growling 
and lashing his sides with his tail ; then he 
prepared to spring upon his prey. The young 
man followed the fairy’s instructions, and, 
just as the tiger was in the act of springing, 
thrust the sponge against the expanded nos- 
trils of the brute. In an instant the limbs 
of the tiger relaxed, his eyes closed, and he 
lay motionless on the ground. Pambookat 
opened and shut the tiger’s jaws, thrust his 
hand between his teeth, and finally, seizing 
him by the tail, dragged him half way across 
the cage. Drawing his kris, he cut off the tip 
of the brute’s right ear, and then, tying first 
his scarf around his fore legs, left the cage, 
and bowed to the King, who had looked on 
with astonishment. 


24 


Fairy Tales* 

“ Doubtless/’ said Pambookat, “ none in 
your Majesty’s Court are inferior to me in 
boldness. Possibly, therefore, some one of 
the courtiers will return the tiger this piece of 
his ear, and ask him for my scarf in ex- 
change.” • 

But the tiger had now recovered, and was 
growling so furiously with pain and rage, that 
no one offered to comply with the request. 

“ The courage of the stranger is undoubted,” 
said Bijak ; “ but to command in the field or 
to rule a conquered nation requires wisdom as 
well as boldness. We have sent a messenger 
a journey of forty leagues, and he has not yet 
returned. We would know if he has reached 
the Court of Bayik the Good, and if the 
Queen, who is the sister of our sovereign, has 
recovered from her illness.” 

“It is but a trifle to know,” answered the 
other. “ Conduct me to the chamber, and 
leave me there alone for. an hour.” 

So they sent him as he desired ; and when 
they had left him he summoned the fairy 
again, and told her of the vizier’s task. She 
waved her wand and stamped her foot as be- 


Pambookat. 


2 5 


fore, and this time there arose a goblin whose 
face was dark and terrible, and whose eyes 
threw out occasionally flashes of light. 

“ O Kilat, son of the cloud ! ” said the fairy, 
“ tell me what I want to know, you and your 
brethren, the sons of the cloud.” 

“To hear is to obey,” answered Kilat ; and 
clapping his hands there entered others like 
him. One of them bore a curious magical in- 
strument, which he placed upon a table ; the 
other, applying his hands to his navel, began 
drawing out a slender line. Attaching the 
end of this to the machine he darted out of 
the window, all the while spinning out the 
line from his bowels, as a spider spins her 
web. He was out of sight in a moment, but 
his track through the air could be traced for a 
long way by flashes of lightning which he left 
behind him in his rapid flight. Pambookat 
had hardly time to count a hundred before 
the magical instrument began to click. Kilat 
bent his head down as though he were listen- 
ing to what it said. Then he spoke : 

“ Tell his Glorious and Excellent Majesty, 
Lord of the Earth and Water, Lord of the 


26 


Fairy Tales. 

White Elephant, Lord of the Celestial 
Weapon, Lord of Life, and Great Chief of 
Righteousness, the messenger has arrived, and 
sends tidings. The Queen has recovered 
from her illness ; the King has been victori- 
ous ; the treasure will be sent. The messen- 
ger sent two days ago to his Exalted High- 
ness is now entering the city gates, and will 
reach the palace in a quarter of an hour.” 

The fairy and the goblins disappeared, and 
Pambookat sought the King, to whom he com- 
municated the tidings of Kilat. Just after he 
had finished, the missing messenger rode up, 
and the letter he bore confirmed what Pam- 
bookat had said. The King thereupon gave 
orders that an army should be assembled and 
placed under the command of the young 
stranger. 

Pambookat returned %o his lodgings to pre- 
pare for his departure, and there summoned 
the fairy once more, and consulted her as to 
the mode of transporting his troops speedily 
over the desert. Waving her wand thrice, 
the fairy again stamped her foot, and this 
time there arose a hideous djinn, of colossal 


Pambookat. 


27 


stature, with muscles of iron and brass ; and 
his eyes, mouth, and nostrils gave forth smoke 
and sparks of fire. 

“ Api-gwloojoo,” said the fairy, “you are 
welcome ! I command you to serve my friend 
here — you, the creature of my will ; you and 
your brethren, the eaters of fire." 

“To hear is to obey,” answered the djinn. 
“ What must I do ?” 

“ Prepare to convey a hundred thousand 
armed men to the chief city of Sind in three 
hours.” 

The djinn bowed and vanished ; and the 
fairy, after bidding Pambookat collect his 
army in front of the King’s palace on the fol- 
lowing morning, disappeared. 

The next day, at dawn, the army of the 
King, a hundred thousand strong, were all as- 
sembled in front of the palace, where they 
found all the people of the city gathered, and 
all in a state of excited surprise. For during 
the night thousands of djinni had come and 
built an iron road extending far into the 
desert beyond the reach of the eye ; and on 
that road, harnessed to great chariots that 


28 


Fairy Tales* 


were capable of holding a thousand men each, 
were a hundred horses with bodies and limbs 
of iron and brass, and nostrils breathing fire 
and smoke. Pambookat ordered the army to 
enter the chariots, whereupon the horses each 
gave a scream that chilled the blood of those 
who heard it, and with a snort and puff they 
all dashed along the iron road with the speed 
of lightning, and were soon out of sight, leav- 
ing the multitude wondering at the extraor- 
dinary spectacle. On sped the horses drag- 
ging the chariots behind, and in the space of 
three hours the troops were all set down in 
the chief city of Sind. 

Galak was taken unawares, but he made a 
bold stand. His small army, however, was 
soon cut to pieces or dispersed, and he was 
taken by his own people, who loathed him, 
and put to death. Pambookat was proclaimed 
King, and the edict of Mulya the Magnificent, 
recognizing the new monarch as an inde- 
pendent sovereign, was read to the people 
amidst great rejoicing. 

But Pambookat found the affairs of the 
kingdom in bad order. The taxes were op- 


Pambookat* 


29 


pressive ; wicked men were in office ; and, to 
crown all, the crops, although heavy, were rot- 
ting in the fields, because Galak had drawn 
so many men to his army that there were few 
to labour. To lower the taxes was easy; and 
after some trouble good men were found to 
take the place of those who plundered alike 
the government and the people, but the 
scarcity of reapers was not so easily remedied. 
In this dilemma Pambookat bethought him 
of the fairy, whom he summoned once more, 
and confided to her his difficulty. 

At the waving of the wand of Pundapatan 
and the stamping of her foot there speedily 
arose a djinn, of a prodigious size, whose 
wide mouth was armed with long steel teeth, 
which passed each other in a fearful manner. 

“ O son of the sickle!” said the fairy, 
“ obey her who called you into being, and 
reap me all these fields of corn, you and your 
brethren, the sons of the sickle ! ” 

“To hear is to obey,” answered Orung- 
tuwai, for such was the name of the djinn ; and 
he stamped his foot, when there arose hun- 
dreds of djinni like himself. To and fro 


3 ° 


Fairy Talcs. 

they ran through the fields, falling upon the 
standing corn, and cutting it with their iron 
teeth, and binding it in sheaves ready to be 
gathered into the barns and granaries ; which 
when the people saw they speedily made 
haste to store it ready for use. Having done 
all this the djinni disappeared. 

The fame of these exploits of Pambookat 
was spread far and wide. All the monarchs 
of the East sought his alliance and favour. 
The King of Pegu sent to him a wonderful 
White Elephant. He was ten cubits high, as 
white as snow. He wore upon his forehead 
a golden plate, upon which were engraved 
his name and titles, surrounded with two cir- 
cles of nine precious stones to guard against 
all evil influences. His covering was of crim- 
son silk, studded with rubies and diamonds. 
In his trunk he bore a letter written on a 
palm-leaf, saying that he was Senmeng, the 
“ Lord Elephant, one of the seven precious 
things, the possession of which marks the 
Maha Chakravartti Raja , the Great Wheel- 
turning King, the holy and universal sover- 
eign, whose advent marks a new cycle.” 


Pambookat* 


3 * 


But Pambookat sent back the elephant, 
saying that he was but a mortal, raised to 
power by celestial favour, and that he must 
humbly use his power for the good of his sub- 
jects and not for conquest or his own glory. 

King Pambookat having set all matters in 
order in his kingdom, set ofT in the chariots on 
the iron road for Yemen. From thence he 
embarked for Zanguebar, where he demanded, 
evoking, the hand of the Princess Manjalis. 
The nuptial ceremonies lasted during two 
weeks, after which he returned with his Queen 
to the capital of Sind, where the people wel- 
comed him with flowers and fireworks and 
great rejoicing. Over his kingdom Pamboo- 
kat reigned long and happily ; and his deeds, 
and the many great things he effected for the 
good of his people through the help of Pan- 
dupatan, are written in the Chronicles of Sind. 


II. 


The Axe of Ranier. 

Once upon a time there lived on the borders 
of a forest an old woman named Jehanne, 
who had an only son, a youth of twenty-one 
years, who was called Ranier. Where the 
two had originally come from no one knew, but 
they had lived in their little hut for many 
years. Ranier was a wood-cutter, and de- 
pended on his daily labor for the support of 
himself and mother, while the later eked out 
their scanty means by spinning. The son, al- 
though poor, was not without learning, for 
an old monk in a neighbouring convent had 
taught him to read and write, and had given 
him instructions in arithmetic. Ranier was 
handsome, active and strong, and very much 
attached to his mother, to whom he paid all 
the honour and obedience due from a son to a 
parent. 


The Axe of Ranier* 


33 


One morning in Spring Ranier went to his 
work in the forest with his axe on his shoulder, 
whistling one of the simple airs of the country 
as he pursued his way. Striding along be- 
neath the branches of the great oaks and 
chestnuts, he began to reflect upon the hard 
fate which seemed to doom him to toil and 
wretchedness, and, thus thinking, whistled no 
longer. Presently he sat down upon a moss- 
covered rock, and laying his axe by his side, 
let his thoughts shape themselves into words. 

“This is a sad life of mine," said Ranier. 
“ I might better it, perhaps, were I to enlist 
in the army of the King, where I should at 
least have food and clothing ; but I cannot 
leave my mother, of whom I am the sole stay 
and support. Must I always live thus — a 
poor wood-chopper, earning one day the bread 
I eat the next, and no more ? ” 

Ranier suddenly felt that some one was 
near him, and, on looking up, sprang to his 
feet and removed his cap. Before him stood 
a beautiful lady, clad in a robe of green satin, 
with a mantle of crimson velvet on her shoul- 
ders, and bearing in her hand a white wand. 


34 


Fairy Talcs. 

“ Ranier ! ” said the unknown, “ I am the 
fairy, Rougevert. I know your history, and 
have heard your complaint. What gift shall 
I bestow on you ? ” 

“ Beautiful fairy,” replied the young man, 
“ I scarcely know what to ask. But I bethink 
me that my axe is nearly worn out, and I 
have no money with which to buy another.” 

The fairy smiled, for she knew that the 
answer of Ranier came from his embarrass- 
ment ; and, going to a tree hard by, she tapped 
on the bark with her wand. Thereupon the 
tree opened, and she took from a recess in its 
centre a keen-edged axe with an ashen handle. 

“ Here,” said Rougevert, “ is the most ex- 
cellent axe in the world. With this you can 
achieve what no wood-chopper has ever done 
yet. You have only to whisper to yourself 
what you wish done, and then speak to it 
properly, and the axe will at once perform all 
you require, without taxing your strength and 
with marvellous quickness.” 

The fairy then taught him the words he 
should use, and, promising to farther befriend 
him as he had need, vanished. 


The Axe of Ranier* 35 

Ranier took the axe and went at once to 
the place where he intended to labour for the 
day. He was not sure that the axe would do 
what the giver had promised, but thought it 
proper to try its powers. “ For,” he said to 
himself, “ the ranger has given me a hundred 
trees to fell, for each of which I am to receive 
a silver groat. To cut these in the usual way 
would take many days. I will wish the axe 
to fell and trim them speedily, so,” — he con- 
tinued aloud, as he had been taught by the 
fairy — “ Axe ! axe ! chop ! chop ! and work 
for my profit ! ” 

Thereupon the axe suddenly leaped from his 
hands and began to chop with great skill and 
swiftness. Having soon cut down, trimmed 
and rolled a hundred trees together, it re- 
turned and placed itself in the hands of Ranier. 

The wood-chopper was very much de- 
lighted with all this, and sat there pleasantly 
reflecting upon his good fortune in possess- 
ing so useful a servant, when the ranger of 
the forest came along. The latter, who was 
a great lord, was much surprised when he 
saw the trees lying there. 


36 


Fairy Tales* 

“ How is this?” asked the ranger, whose 
name was Woodmount. “At this time yes- 
terday these trees were standing. How did 
you contrive to fell them so soon ?” 

“ I had assistance, my Lord,” replied Ra- 
nier ; but he said nothing about the magic axe. 

Lord Woodmount hereupon entered into 
conversation with Ranier, and finding him to 
be intelligent and prompt in his replies, was 
much pleased with him. At last he said : 

“ We have had much difficulty in getting 
ready the timber for the King’s new palace, in 
consequence of the scarcity of wood-cutters 
and the slowness with which they work. 
There are over twenty thousand trees yet to 
be cut and hewn, and for every tree fully 
finished the King allows a noble of fifty groats, 
although he gives but a groat for the felling 
alone. It is necessary that they should all be 
ready within a month, though I fear that it is 
impossible. As you seem to be able to get a 
number of laborers together, I will allot you a 
thousand trees, if you choose, should you under- 
take to have them all ready to be hauled away 
for the builders’ use within a month’s time.” 


The Axe of Ranier. 


37 


“ My Lord,” answered Ranier, “ I will un- 
dertake to have the whole twenty thousand 
ready before the time set.” 

“Do you know what you say?” inquired 
the ranger, astonished at the bold proposal. 

“ Perfectly, my Lord,” was the reply. “ Let 
me undertake the work on condition that you 
will cause the forest to be guarded, and no one 
to enter save they have my written permission. 
Before the end of the month the trees will be 
ready.” 

“Well,” said Lord Woodmount, “it is a 
risk for me to run ; but, from what you have 
done already, it is possible you may obtain 
enough woodmen to complete your task. 
Yet, beware ! If you succeed I will not only 
give you twenty thousand nobles of gold, but 
also appoint you — if you can write, as you 
have told me — the deputy ranger here ; and 
for every day less than a month in which you 
finish your contract I will add a hundred no- 
bles ; but, if you fail, I will have you hanged 
on a tree. When shall you begin ? ” 

“To-morrow morning,” replied Ranier. 

The next morning, before daylight, Ranier 


38 


Fairy Tales* 

took his way to the forest, leaving all his 
money save three groats with his mother, and, 
after telling her that he might not return for 
a day or so, passed the guard that he found 
already set, and plunged into the wood. 
When he came to a place where the trees 
were thickest and loftiest, he whispered to 
himself what he had to do, and said to the 
axe : “ Axe ! axe ! chop ! chop ! and work for 
my profit.” The axe at once went to work 
with great earnestness, and by nightfall over 
ten thousand trees were felled, hewn and 
thrown into piles. Then Ranier, who had 
not ceased before to watch the work, ate some 
of the provisions which he had brought with 
him, and throwing himself under a great tree, 
whose spreading boughs shaded him from the 
moonlight, drew his scanty mantle around 
him, and slept soundly till sunrise. 

The next morning Ranier arose and looked 
with delight at the work already done ; then, 
speaking again to the axe, it began chopping 
away as before. 

Now it chanced that morning that the chief 
ranger had started to see how the work was 


The Axe of Ranter. 


39 


being done, and, on reaching the forest, asked 
the guards if many wood-cutters had entered. 
They all replied that only one had made his 
appearance, but he must be working vigor- 
ously, since all that morning, and the whole 
day before, the wood had resounded with the 
blows of axes. The Lord Woodmount there- 
upon rode on in great anger, for he thought 
that Ranier had mocked him. But presently 
he came to great piles of hewn timber, which 
astonished him much ; and then he heard the 
axes’ sound, which astonished him more, for it 
seemed as though twenty thousand wood- 
choppers were engaged at once, so great was 
the din. When he came to where the axe 
was at work, he thought he saw — and this was 
through the magic power of the fairy — thou- 
sands of wood-cutters, all arrayed in green 
hose and red jerkins, some felling the trees, 
some hewing them into square timber, and 
others arranging the hewn logs into piles of a 
hundred each, while Ranier stood looking on. 
He was so angry at the guards for having 
misinformed him, that he at once rode back 
and rated them soundly on their supposed un- 


40 


Fairy Tales. 

truth. But as they persisted in the story that 
but one man had passed, he grew angrier than 
ever. While he was still rating them, Ranier 
came up. 

“ Well, my Lord,” said the latter, “ if you 
will go or send to examine, you will find that 
twenty thousand trees are already cut, squared 
and made ready to be hauled to the King’s 
palace-ground.” 

The ranger at once rode back into the 
forest, and, having counted the number of 
piles, was much pleased, and ordered Ranier 
to come that day week when the timber would 
be inspected, and if it were all properly done 
he would receive the twenty thousand nobles 
agreed upon. 

“ Excuse me, my Lord,” suggested Ranier, 
“ but the work has been done in two days 
instead of thirty ; and twenty-eight days off 
at a hundred nobles per day makes twenty- 
two thousand eight hundred nobles as my 
due.” 

“True,” replied the ranger; “and if you 
want money now ” 

“ Oh, no ! ” interrupted Ranier, “ I have 


The Axe of Ranier, 


4i 


three groats in my purse, and ten more at 
home, which will be quite sufficient for my 
need.” 

At this the ranger laughed outright, and 
then rode away. 

At the end of a week, Ranier sought the 
ranger’s castle, and there received not only an 
order on the King’s treasurer for the money, 
but also the patent of deputy-ranger of the 
King’s forest, and the allotment of a handsome 
house in which to live. Thither Ranier 
brought his mother, and as he was now rich, 
he bought him fine clothing, and hired him 
servants, and lived in grand style, performing 
all the duties of his office as though he had 
been used to it all his life. People noticed, 
however, that the new deputy-ranger never 
went out without his axe, which occasioned 
some gossip at first ; but some one having 
suggested that he did so to show that he was 
not ashamed of his former condition, folk 
were satisfied, — though the truth was that he 
carried the axe for service only. 

Now it happened that Ranier was walking 
alone one evening in the forest to observe 


42 


Fairy Tales, 

whether any one was trying to kill the Kings 
deer, and while there, he heard the clash of 
swords. On going to the spot whence the 
noise came, he saw a cavalier richly clad, with 
his back to a tree, defending himself as he 
best might, from a half-dozen men in armour, 
each with his visor down. Ranier had no 
sword, for, not being a knight, it was forbid- 
den him to bear such a weapon ; but he be- 
thought him of his axe, and hoped it might 
serve the men as it had the trees. So he 
wished these cowardly assailants killed, and 
when he uttered the prescribed words, the 
axe fell upon the villains, and so hacked and 
hewed them that they were at once destroyed. 
But it seemed to the knight thus rescued that 
it was the arm of Ranier which guided the 
axe, for such was the magic of the fairy. 

So soon as the assailants had been slain, 
the axe came back into Ranier’s hand, and 
Ranier went to the knight, who was faint 
with his wounds, and offered to lead him to 
his house. And when he examined him fully, 
he bent on his knee, for he discovered that it 
was the King, Dagobert, whom he had seen 


The Axe of Ranier. 43 

once before when the latter was hunting in 
the forest. 

The King said : “ This is the deputy-ranger, 
Master Ranier. Is it not ?” 

“ Yes, sire !” replied Ranier. 

The King laid the blade of his sword on 
Ranier’s shoulder, and said : 

“ I dub thee knight. Rise up, Sir Ranier ! 
Be trusty, true and loyal.” 

Sir Ranier arose a knight, and with the 
King examined the faces of the would-be 
assassins, who were found to be great lords 
of the country, and among them was Lord 
Woodmount. 

“Sir Ranier,” said the King, “have these 
wretches removed and buried. The office of 
chief ranger is thine.” 

While the King was partaking of refresh- 
ments at Ranier’s house, the new ranger sent 
trusty servants to bury the slain. After this, 
King Dagobert returned to his palace, whence 
he sent the new knight his own sword, a bald- 
rick and spurs of gold, a collar studded with 
jewels, the patent of chief ranger of the forest, 
and a letter inviting him to visit the Court, 


44 


Fairy Tales* 

Now, when Sir Ranier went to Court, the 
ladies there, seeing that he was young and 
handsome, treated him with great favour ; and 
even the King’s daughter, the Princess Isaure, 
smiled sweetly on him, which, when divers 
great lords saw, they were very angry, and 
plotted to injure the new-comer ; for they 
thought him of base blood, and were much 
chagrined that he should have been made a 
knight, and be thus welcomed by the Princess 
and the ladies of the Court ; and they hated 
him more as the favourite of the King. So 
they conferred together how to punish him 
for his good fortune, and at length formed a 
plan which they thought would serve their 
ends. 

It must be understood that King Dagobert 
was at that time engaged in a war with King 
Grimbald, who reigned over an adjoining king- 
dom, and that the armies of the two kings now 
lay within thirty miles of the forest, and were 
about to give each other battle. As Sir Ran- 
ier, it was supposed, had never been bred to 
feats of arms, they thought if they could get 
him in the field, he would so disgrace himself 


The Axe of Ranier. 


45 


as to lose the favour of the King and the court 
dames, or be certainly slain. For these lords 
knew nothing of the adventure of the King in 
the forest — all those in the conspiracy having 
been slain — and thought that Ranier had 
either rendered some trifling service to the 
King, or in some way had pleased the sover- 
eign’s fancy. So when the King and some of 
the great lords of the Court were engaged in 
talking of the battle that was soon to be fought, 
one of the conspirators, named Dyvour, ap- 
proached them, and said : 

“ Why not send Sir Ranier there, sire ; for 
he is, no doubt, a brave and accomplished 
knight, and would render great service ?” 

The King was angry at this, for he knew 
that Ranier had not been bred to arms, and 
readily penetrated the purpose that prompted 
the suggestion. Before he could answer, 
however, Sir Ranier, who had heard the words 
of Dyvour, spoke up and said : 

“ I pray you, sire, to let me go ; for, though 
I may not depend much upon my lance and 
sword, I have an axe that never fails me.” 

Then the King remembered of the marvel- 


46 


Fairy Tales* 

lous feats which he had seen Ranier perform 
in his behalf, and he replied : 

“ You shall go, Sir Ranier ; and as the Lord 
Dyvour has made a suggestion of such profit, 
he shall have the high honour of attending as 
one of the knights in your train, where he 
will, doubtless, support you well.” 

At this, the rest laughed, and Dyvour was 
much troubled, for he was a great coward. 
But he dared not refuse obedience. 

The next morning, Sir Ranier departed 
along with the King for the field of battle, 
bearing his axe with him ; and, when they ar- 
rived, they found both sides drawn up in bat- 
tle order, and waiting the signal to begin. 
Before they fell to, a champion of the enemy, 
a knight of fortune from Bohemia, named Sir 
Paul, who was over seven feet in height, and a 
very formidable soldier, who fought as well with 
his left hand as with his right, rode forward 
between the two armies, and defied any knight 
in King Dagobert’s train to single combat. 

Then said Dyvour: “No doubt, here is a 
good opportunity for Sir Ranier to show his 
prowess,” 


The Axe of Ranier# 


47 


41 Be sure that it is ! ” exclaimed Sir Ranier ; 
and he rode forward to engage Sir Paul. 

When the Bohemian knight saw only a strip- 
ling, armed with a woodman’s axe, he laughed. 
“ Is this girl their champion, then ?” he asked. 
44 Say thy prayers, young sir, for thou art not 
long for this world, I promise thee.” 

But Ranier whispered to himself, “ I want 
me this braggart hewn to pieces, and then the 
rest beaten and added, aloud : 44 Axe ! axe ! 
chop ! chop ! and work for my profit ! ” Where- 
upon the axe leaped forward, and dealt such a 
blow upon Sir Paul that it pierced through 
his helmet, and clave him to the saddle. 
Then it went chopping among the enemy 
with such force that it cut them down by 
hundreds ; and King Dagobert with his army 
falling upon them, won a great victory. 

Now the magic of the axe followed it here 
as before, and every looker-on believed he 
saw Sir Ranier slaying his hundreds. So it 
chanced when the battle was over, and those 
were recalled who pursued the enemy, that a 
group of knights and the great lords of the 
Court who were gathered around the King, 


4 S 


Fairy Tales* 

and were discussing the events of the day, 
agreed as one man, that there never had 
been a warrior as potent as Sir Ranier since 
the days of Roland, and that he deserved to 
be made a great lord. And the King thought 
so, too. So he created him a baron on the 
field, and ordered his patent of nobility to be 
made out on their return, and gave him cas- 
tles and land ; and, furthermore, told him he 
would grant him any favour more he chose to 
ask, though it were half the kingdom. 

When Dyvour and others heard this, they 
were more envious than ever, and concerted 
together a plan for the ruin of Lord Treefell, 
for such was Sir Ranier’s new title. After 
many things had been proposed and rejected, 
Dyvour said: “The Princess Isaure loves 
this stripling, as I have been told by my 
sister, the Lady Zanthe, who attends on her 
Highness. I think he has dared to raise his 
hopes to her. I will persuade him to demand 
her hand as the favour the King has promised. 
Ranier does not know our ancient law, and, 
while he will fail in his suit, the King will be 
so offended at his presumption that he will 
speedily dismiss him from the Court.” 


The Axe of Ranier. 


49 


This plan was greatly approved. Dyvour 
sought out Ranier, to whom he professed 
great friendship, with many regrets for all he 
might have said or done in the past calculated 
to give annoyance. As Dyvour was a great 
dissembler, and Ranier was frank and un- 
suspicious, they became very intimate. At 
length, one day when they were together, Dy- 
vour said : 

“ Have you ever solicited the King for the 
favour promised ? ” 

And Ranier answered, “ No !” 

“ Then,” said Dyvour, “ it is a pity that you 
do not love the Princess Isaure.” 

“Why?” inquired Ranier. 

“ Because,” replied Dyvour, “ the Princess 
not only favours you, but, I think, from what 
my sister Zanthe has said, that the King has 
taken this mode of giving her to you, and at 
her special instance.” 

Ranier knew that the Lady Zanthe was the 
favourite maiden of the Princess, and, as we 
are easily persuaded in the way our inclina- 
tions run, he took heart and determined to 
act upon Dyvour’s counsel. 


5© Fairy Talcs. 

About a week afterward, while the King 
was walking in the courtyard of his palace, 
as he did at times, he met with Ranier. 

“ You have never asked of me the favour I 
promised, good Baron,” said King Dagobert. 

“It is true, your Majesty,” said Ranier; 
“ but it was because I feared to ask what I 
most desired.” 

“Speak,” said the King, “and fear not.” 

Therefore Ranier preferred his request for 
the hand of the Princess. 

“ Baron,” replied the King, frowning, “some 
crafty enemy has prompted you to this. The 
daughter of a king should only wed with the 
son of a king. Nevertheless, there is an an- 
cient law, never fulfilled since the conditions 
are impossible, which says that any one of 
noble birth, who has saved the King s life, 
vanquished the King’s enemies in battle, and 
built a castle forty cubits high in a single 
night, shall wed the King’s daughter. Though 
you have saved my life and vanquished my 
enemies, yet you are not of noble birth, nor, 
were you so, could you build such a castle in 
such a space of time.” 


The Axe of Ranier* 51 

“ I am of noble blood, nevertheless,” said 
Ranier, proudly, “ although I have been a 
wood-chopper. My father, who died in banish- 
ment, was the Duke of Manylands, falsely 
accused of having conspired against the late 
King, your august father ; and I can produce 
the record of my birth. Our line is as noble as 
any in your realm, sire, and nobler than most.” 

“ If that be true, and I doubt it not,” an- 
swered King Dagobert, “ the law holds good 
for you. But you must first build a palace 
where we stand, and that in a single night. 
So your suit is hopeless.” 

The King turned and entered the palace, 
leaving Ranier in deep sorrow, for he thought 
the condition impossible. As he stood thus, 
the fairy, Rougevert, appeared. 

** Be not downcast,” she said ; “ but build 
that castle to-night.” 

“ Alas ! ” cried Ranier, “ it cannot be done.” 

“ Look at your axe,” returned the fairy. 
“ Do you not see that the back of the blade is 
shaped like a hammer ? ” 

So she taught Ranier what words to use, 
and vanished. 


52 


Fairy Tales. 

When the sun was down, Ranier came to 
the courtyard, and raising his axe with the 
blade upward, he said aloud : “ Axe ! axe ! 
hammer ! hammer ! and build for my profit ! ” 
The axe at once leaped forward with the ham- 
mer part downward, and began cracking the 
solid rock on which the courtyard lay, and 
shaping it into oblong blocks, and heaping 
them one on the other. So much noise was 
made thereby that the warders first, and then 
the whole Court, came out to ascertain the 
cause. Even the King himself was drawn to 
the spot. And it seemed to them, all through 
the magic of the fairy, that there were hun- 
dreds on hundreds of workmen in green cloth 
hose and red leather jerkins, some engaged in 
quarrying and shaping, and others in laying the 
blocks, and others in keying arches, and adjust- 
ing doors and windows, and making oriels and 
towers and turrets. And still as they looked, 
the building arose foot by foot, and before 
dawn a great stone castle, forty cubits high, 
with its towers and battlements, its portcullis, 
and its great gate, stood in the courtyard. 

When King Dagobert saw this he em- 


The Axe of Ranier. 


53 


braced Ranier, continued to him the title of 
his father, whose ducal estates he restored to 
the son, and sending for the Princess Isaure, 
who appeared radiant with joy and beauty, he 
betrothed the young couple in the presence 
of the Court. 

So Ranier and Isaure were married, and 
lived long and happily ; and, on the death of 
Dagobert, Ranier reigned. As for the axe, 
that is lost, somehow, and, although I have 
made diligent inquiry, I have never been able 
to find where it is. Some people think the 
fairy took it after King Ranier died, and hid 
it again in a tree ; and I recommend all wood- 
choppers to look at the heart of every tree 
they fell, for this wonderful axe. They can 
not mistake it, since the word “Boldness” is 
cut on the blade, and the word “ Energy” is 
printed, in letters of gold, on the handle. 


m. 


Didoze. 

Once upon a time there lived a youth 
whose name was Fearnot. His father had 
been a gentleman of the Court and his mother 
one of the ladies in waiting to the Queen, 
and both were of noble descent. But the pair 
had given offense in some way to the royal 
family, whereby they lost favour. Pursued by 
the frown of the sovereign, they left the royal 
presence, and sought shelter in a small cha- 
teau, which had belonged to the Lady Sol, 
Fearnot’s mother, before her marriage with 
the chevalier, her husband. The income of 
the couple was so small that they barely man- 
aged to support themselves, their only son, 
and one servant. In a few years their very 
existence was forgotten by the Court, and 
after their old servant died and their son had 
nearly arrived at the age of manhood they 


Didoze . 


55 


died also and on the same day. Their son 
received their parting blessing, with an in- 
junction to devote himself to honour and truth, 
and to enter the service of the King at the 
first opportunity, making his profession that 
of arms — at that period the only avenue to 
distinction. The father had occupied the 
closing years of his life in the instruction of 
his son, having the future profession of the 
latter in view ; and Fearnot was enabled to 
ride, fence, and perform all kinds of martial 
exercises. He had also been taught to read, 
write, and compose verses so well that he was 
esteemed a skillful minstrel, and almost too 
learned for any one not destined for a clerk. 

The patrimony of Fearnot was small. Be- 
sides the ch&teau and its furniture, there was 
a village of six small houses, tenanted by some 
woodmen, who paid him a small rent, a little 
pasture-field, about ten acres of thriving 
woodland, and as much more in arable 
ground and orchard. Besides these, he had 
two horses, both so aged as to have become 
staid in demeanour and orderly in habits, two 
swords, a complete suit of armour, a few silk 


Fairy Tales* 


56 

and velvet mantles, a gold baldrick, a harp 
and zither, and a purse containing twenty 
broad pieces of gold. It was not a tempting 
array of riches, and Fearnot pondered long 
and deeply on the best mode of winning rep- 
utation and wealth. For several nights he 
lay awake, engaged in thinking upon his cir- 
cumstances and the course he should pursue, 
until the dawn surprised him, when he would 
fall asleep and not wake until noonday. 

On the sixth of these wakeful nights he 
failed to fall asleep as usual on the approach 
of daylight. As the rays of the morning sun 
streamed into his scantily-furnished chamber, 
his eyes fell upon the opposite side of the 
apartment. There they rested on a switch of 
witch hazel, which he had picked up in the 
forest the day before and brought home, plac- 
ing it against the wall previously to retiring to 
rest. As he looked on this, he observed that 
the top of the switch began to swell and puff, 
until it took the shape of a long, lank face; a 
couple of twigs on the upper part lengthened 
into a pair of thin, bony arms ; and the switch, 
after raising itself upon its single leg, com- 


Didoze. 


57 


menced to skip about in the most absurd way, 
turning all kinds of flip-flaps and somersaults, 
leaping over the chairs and table, and pirouet- 
ting around the room like a top. Up to the 
head of the bed and then down again, leaping 
straight upward until its head touched the 
ceiling, taking its foot in its mouth and roll- 
ing itself over and over like a hoop, it finally 
seemed to tire, and, slowly hopping to where 
Fearnot lay, said, in a thin, squeaking voice : 

“ Good-morning, master ! ” 

Fearnot had been a deal amused and as- 
tonished at the antics of the hazel wand, and 
replied to the salutation by a question, ask- 
ing : 

“ What is your name, and what do you 
want ? ” 

“ Didoze, and to be hired as your servant,” 
was the answer. 

“ Very good,” said Fearnot ; “ but what can 
be expected of a servant who has but one 
leg?” 

Didoze laughed and shut his left eye in a 
knowing way. Then he put his left hand un- 
der the right-hand side of his doublet and be- 


58 Fairy Tales* 

gan to pull. First he drew out a boot, 
secondly an ankle, and so on until he had 
drawn out a second leg, a full match to the one 
he had had before. Having thus placed him- 
self upon a double footing, he began a series 
of leaps, springs, and turnovers, surpassing in 
their novelty everything before seen, and so 
very funny that Fearnot lay there and laughed 
at them until the tears ran down his cheeks. 
At length, having apparently had enough of 
it, the new-comer stopped and bowed as be- 
fore. 

“ That shows how agile I am,” said Didoze. 
“ Engage me, and you will find I can do other 
things besides turning flip-flaps.” 

“ It is very probable,” answered Fearnot ; 
“but there is the matter of wages.” 

“ Oh ! as for that,” returned the other, 
“that is easily settled. Unless I am per- 
mitted to serve without pay, I am not allowed 
to take a master.” 

Of course, on such easy terms there was no 
difficulty in making a bargain ; and Didoze 
was engaged as servant for the term of one 
year, or longer, if the parties should agree. 


Didoze* 


59 


“ But,” said the new-comer, “ I must in- 
form your Worship of one thing. If ever you 
should reveal to any one the nature of my 
origin, you will find me turn to a hazel wand 
again.” 

“ Say you so ? ” cried Fearnot. “ Then rest 
assured that I shall say nothing about how 
you came to me.” 

“ Then, sir,” said Didoze, “ breakfast awaits 
your Worship.” 

Fearnot did not expect much in the way of 
breakfast. A roll of bread and a bowl of 
chocolate generally made his frugal morning- 
meal, with an egg or two, if the hens did their 
duty to the master of the chateau. But what 
was his astonishment, on entering the break- 
fasting-room, to behold a table set with a 
dozen covers, each of which Didoze raised in 
turn, and revealed various savoury dishes, 
whose odours created an appetite speedily de- 
stroyed by an indulgence in the things them- 
selves. Fearnot, in short, fared most excel- 
lently, and ate a very hearty breakfast, with- 
out making remarks on the unexpected meal 
or inquiring whence it came. 


60 Fairy Tales* 

When the breakfast was over Didoze 
brought some water in a ewer, with a basin 
and napkin, and waited until his master had 
washed his hands. Then he assisted him to 
dress for the day, bringing him for that pur- 
pose his finest velvet mantle and the gayest 
of his swords. He also brought forth the two 
horses, one of which, Sable, was caparisoned 
for the master, and the other, Whitefoot, was 
made ready for the man. Without having 
any particular purpose in view, Fearnot suf- 
fered himself to be persuaded by his new and 
singular servant, and rode forth, scarcely 
knowing whither. 

Nothing worthy of note took place for the 
first hour, as they rode by a shaded way on 
the edge of a forest, until they came to a spot 
where a footpath crossed the highway. Here 
Didoze suddenly leaped from his horse ; and 
his master, on turning around to discover 
what had become of his queer servant, found 
him standing on his head upon the top of a 
flat stone which lay half imbedded in the turf. 

“ What do you mean by that freak ? ” in- 
quired Fearnot. 


Didoze. 


61 


“ Master,” said the other, “ being born of the 
witch hazel, I possess the properties of the 
twig from whence I sprang, and always point 
head downward when I come to a hidden de- 
posit of the precious metals. Underneath 
this stone is a treasure, and by the hardness 
with which my head bumped, the treasure 
must be very large.” 

“In that case,” said Fearnot, “we had 
better dig it up at once, since it is what I very 
much need.” 

“ Let us wait until midnight,” proposed 
Didoze, and his master assented. 

On they rode for miles, until they came to 
a stately castle, standing amid fields and ex- 
tensive forests. 

“ What a beautiful place ! ” exclaimed Fear- 
not. 

Then Didoze explained to him that it had 
belonged to the Baron Bomberg, a great 
nobleman, who had been beheaded for con- 
spiring with others against the King, and that 
it was for sale. It was well wooded and 
watered, there being three miles square of 
forest, and a beautiful river running through 


62 


Fairy Tales* 

the centre ; and its possession conferred a title, 
the owner being a baron by right of the 
estate. So he recommended Fearnot to buy 
the property, when they had secured the 
treasure which lay under the stone at the 
cross-path. While thus talking and riding 
along Didoze suddenly leaped from his horse 
and struck his head down on the ground, as 
he had done before. 

11 Is there another treasure there ? ” inquired 
Fearnot. 

“No — and — yes/’ was the answer. “Be- 
neath us is a vein of gold, which extends 
nearly across the Bomberg domains and goes 
down to the centre of the earth. It is over 
six inches in thickness, and he who owns it 
has a gold-mine that will make him richer 
than the King. 

When night came, Didoze and his master, 
coming with sacks and the two horses, re- 
moved the stone at the cross-path. Under- 
neath this they found two boxes — one very 
heavy and the other of much less weight. The 
heavy box they secured by ropes and sus- 
pended it by means of a stout pole between 


Didoze. 


63 


the two horses, while the lighter box was put 
in a sack and borne on the back of Didoze. 
Fearnot led the horses, and, the servant fol- 
lowing after, the twain arrived at home before 
midnight. Once there, Fearnot made haste 
to examine his prize. As he expected, the 
heavier and smaller box was filled with gold 
pieces ; but when the larger and lighter box 
was opened it was found to contain ten times 
the value of the gold in precious stones. 
There were more than two hundred diamonds, 
the smallest of which was larger than a man’s 
finger-nail, while the rest of the box was filled 
with rubies, emeralds, and sapphires of aston- 
ishing size and purity. There were few such 
gems as these in the royal crown, and Fear- 
not was delighted at his enormous riches. To 
complete his satisfaction, he found in one of 
the boxes a gold plate, with the words : “ To 
the Finder . May they do him more good 
than they ever have the unhappy wretch who 
has placed them under this stone.” 

Fearnot took the advice of his servant, and 
bought the Bomberg estate, thus becoming 
the Baron Fearnot. Didoze was made the 


6 4 


Fairy Tales. 


major-domo, with a long train of servants at 
his command ; for, though the estate cost a 
large sum, there was enough of the treasure 
left to maintain an extensive establishment. 
In addition to it, the baron had another and 
greater source of revenue. By the advice of 
Didoze, he commenced to mine for gold on 
the estate, and discovered a vein whose rich- 
ness and extent became the admiration of the 
country around. 

Having all these riches, the young baron 
determined to obey the injunction of his dead 
father and enter on the profession of arms. 
So he called out his numerous retainers and 
prepared to offer his services to the King, 
Mimbrano, who was at that time engaged in 
war with the neighbouring King, Barbanigra. 

One day, while preparations were making 
for a visit to the capital, Fearnot was engaged 
in hunting in the Black Forest, near which 
his castle stood, when he became separated 
from his attendants, in the ardour of his pur- 
suit, and so lost his way. After winding his 
horn to no purpose and wandering along with- 
out discovering any beaten path, he came at 


Didoze* 


65 


length to a little cottage, at whose door he 
rapped with his hunting-whip. It was opened 
by a young maiden, who, in despite of her 
coarse attire, was so graceful and beautiful 
that Fearnot fell deeply in love with her at 
once. It was with much embarrassment that 
he inquired of her the way out of the forest. 
Before she could answer him, his attendants, 
who had been seeking him in all directions, 
rode up ; and, having no excuse for remain- 
ing, he was compelled to bid the beautiful 
peasant-girl farewell. All the way home, 
however, he thought of nothing but her 
charms ; and on reaching his castle he sum- 
moned Didoze and inquired of him whom the 
maiden might be. But Didoze was either 
ignorant or not inclined to be communicative ; 
and, on riding there the next day, Fearnot 
found the cottage deserted. The woodmen 
in the forest assured him that the place had 
not been tenanted for years. All inquiries 
were fruitless ; but Fearnot only became the 
more enamoured of the unknown. 

At length the day came when the young 
Baron Fearnot, at the head of a train of forty 


66 


Fairy Tales* 

knights and a thousand men-at-arms, paid his 
visit to the King. The fame of his riches 
had preceded him, and he found a ready au- 
dience from the sovereign, who graciously 
accepted the services of the young baron and 
his followers. 

King Mimbrano was the younger of two 
brothers, sons of the monarch in whose ser- 
vice the Chevalier Fearnot and the Lady Sol 
had been engaged. Just after the death of 
his father, the elder brother, Rubino, sud- 
denly disappeared. Shortly after that, his 
wife and daughter, the latter an infant, dis- 
appeared also. No traces of either could be 
found by the most diligent search; and at 
last the younger brother mounted the throne, 
where he had reigned for many years. He 
was not much beloved, however, for, though 
no tyrant, he was moody, capricious, and sub- 
ject to fits of despondency, during which he 
would shut himself up from the Court for 
weeks at a time. 

It was to this monarch that Fearnot, ac- 
companied by Didoze as an esquire, offered 
the services of himself and his followers. 


Didoze . 


67 


King Mimbrano was not only glad to accept 
the valuable addition to his army, but, after 
complimenting Fearnot on the ease and dex- 
terity with which he managed his steed, the 
manner in which he bore his arms, and the 
elegance of his carriage, gave him a position 
near his person and entrusted him with the 
royal banner. 

In process of time the two armies met in 
battle. Fearnot distinguished himself greatly 
in the fight, unhorsing knight after knight 
who attempted to take from him the great 
standard. But in spite of all effort the army 
of King Mimbrano was beaten, and it was 
only after a desperate resistance that Fearnot 
was enabled to retreat into one of the Kings 
castles, wherein he was besieged by King 
Barbanigra. King Mimbrano had been slain 
in the battle, and Fearnot had been sum- 
moned to surrender, under penalty, if he re- 
fused, of having the castle stormed and the 
defenders put to the sword. To this sum- 
mons Fearnot sent a defiance and the siege 
began. 

At first Barbanigra attempted to carry the 


68 


Fairy Tales* 


place by assault ; but it was too strong and 
his forces were repulsed with great loss. 
Then he sat down before it to take the place 
by a regular siege. So closely did he invest 
the castle that no food could be got from 
without, and the soldiers began at length to 
murmur on account of the scarcity of pro- 
visions. All this troubled Fearnot very 
much, nor could he devise any mode of relief. 
As he was walking in the courtyard and 
thinking upon a plan to sally forth and cut a 
way through the besiegers, he was joined by 
Didoze. 

“ Baron, my master,” said the latter, “why 

do we stay cooped up here like rats in a 

? >> 

“Certes!” answered Fearnot, “because 
there is no way to get out, save over the 
lances of a hundred thousand men.” 

“ Baron, my master,” said Didoze, “ if the 
great gate be not open, we can squeeze through 
the wicket ; and if the wicket be closed, we 
can creep through the grating below.” 

Fearnot waited to hear more. Whereupon 
his squire told him there was a passage un* 


Didoze* 


69 


derground leading from the dungeons of the 
castle to the cellar of a house a mile off, 
where King Barbanigra had established his 
quarters ; and he offered to show him the 
way. So Fearnot went with him, and to- 
gether they reached the house where Barba- 
nigra held council with his great lords by day 
and slept at night. And while there they 
found that the passage led to a little room 
directly back of the bed-chamber of the 
king — a mere lumber-closet. And Didoze 
further informed him that on the third night 
there would be a grand banquet there, at 
which the King would entertain the chief 
barons and the leading knights. 

“ Now,” said the elfin esquire, “ if you will 
bring hither at that time enough knights and 
men-at-arms to take them all prisoners, I will 
go forth to-morrow and arouse the country in 
your name, to fall upon their army, when 
once you have sallied forth from the castle.” 

“ But how will you get through their forces 
without being taken ? ” 

Didoze did not answer ; but, taking hold 
of his right foot, stuffed it and the whole 


7o 


Fairy Tales. 

leg under his jerkin, shoving it up like the 
joints of a telescope. Then his arms withered 
down to twigs, his head contracted into a 
knot, and he leaned against the wall, a mere 
switch of witch hazel. As Fearnot looked on 
in astonishment, the hazel wand danced out of 
the dark room into the next chamber, where 
the King lay on his couch, and commenced 
such a series of queer antics that the King 
wondered, and called to the guard without to 
see it. When the guard opened the door, 
the wand jumped over his head and hopped 
its way through the camp. The men-at-arms, 
astonished to see a dry wand perform such 
feats, would have stopped it ; but it slipped 
through their midst and was soon out of 
sight. As for Fearnot, he closed the trap- 
door after him, and, entering the underground 
passage, was soon back in the castle, where 
he made arrangements for the capture of the 
King and nobles. 

On that night and the next Fearnot, look- 
ing from the top of the highest tower, saw 
great signal-fires all over the country, by 
which he knew that Didoze was arousing the 


Didoze, 


7i 


people and gathering together the remnants 
of King Mimbrano’s army. 

On the following night King Barbanigra 
and his peers came to a great banquet ; and, 
after much feasting, when the wine-cup began 
to travel fast around the board, they closed the 
doors to have their revel undisturbed. The 
King had directed his guests to leave their 
arms in the hall, for sometimes when excited 
by wine, the rude knights would quarrel, and, 
forgetful of the presence of the King, engage 
in deadly fight. So it was that, when Fear- 
not suddenly made his appearance among 
them, attended by his knights, they had no 
weapons with which to defend themselves, and 
were obliged to surrender at mercy. Fearnot 
caused them to be blindfolded and carried 
through the underground passage to the cas- 
tle, where they were safely bestowed. 

Just before dawn the soldiers of King Mim- 
brano’s late army and the peasants made a de- 
scent upon the enemy’s camp ; and at the 
same time Fearnot and his companions sallied 
forth from the castle. The alarm was sent to 
the King and his captains ; but these could 


72 


Fairy Tales. 


not be found. The story went from mouth 
to mouth that they had fled ; whereupon a 
panic ensued and the enemy dispersed in con- 
fusion. Thousands were slain or taken pri- 
soners, and Baron Fearnot was welcomed by 
the people as their deliverer. As the late 
king had no children and the great lords were 
too jealous to permit one of their own number 
to reign, they all invited Fearnot to ascend 
the throne. 

King Fearnot made a just and wise king 
and was much beloved by the Court and peo- 
ple, and the more so since the great ransom 
he had exacted of Barbanigra and his knights 
prevented for some time the imposition of 
taxes. But Fearnot was not happy, for he 
thought much on the peasant maiden whom 
he met in the forest and of whom he was so 
much enamoured. 

At length his sorrow attracted the attention 
of Didoze, who managed to lead him to give 
its cause. 

“ Beau sire, my King,” said Lord Hazelwand 
— for such was the title given to Didoze by 
the new monarch — “ I am able to cure your 


Didoze. 


73 


sorrow, provided your Majesty will run further 
risk by taking a wife.” 

And then Didoze informed him that Prince 
Rubino had been killed by assassins hired by 
his younger brother, and his wife slain at the 
same time ; but one of the ruffians, through 
pity, had spared the infant child and given 
her in charge of a retired gentlewoman of the 
Court, who had brought her up with great care. 
For fear of accidental discovery, she had been 
dressed at all times like a peasant-girl, and it 
was she who, strolling in the forest, had taken 
shelter in the deserted cottage, for fear of the 
huntsmen, and had come to the door at the 
summons of Fearnot. Now that Mimbrano 
was dead and another king on the throne, the 
aged gentlewoman had brought her charge to 
Court. 

When Fearnot next saw the Princess Grace- 
ful, clad as became her rank and radiant with 
beauty, he was more in love than ever. He 
soon found the maiden to be not averse to 
him, and offered her his hand. In due time 
they were married, amid great rejoicing of the 
people, and lived long and happily together. 


74 


Fairy Talcs* 

But it chanced one day, a year after, that 
the Queen asked the King from whence came 
the strange servant, Lord Hazelwand, of 
whom he seemed so fond. The King at first 
evaded the question ; but Queen Graceful be- 
came at length so importunate, even using 
tears to persuade him, that he told her the 
whole story. So soon as he had done so he 
remembered the warning given him by Didoze 
and was troubled. Early the next morning 
he went to Lord Hazelwand’s apartment in 
the palace, and only found there an old wo- 
man, who made the fires and swept the rooms 
in that wing of the building. He asked her 
if she had seen Lord Hazelwand. 

“ Indeed, no, your Majesty,” she replied ; 
“not this morning. In fact, I saw nothing in 
this room, when I came, more than your Maj- 
esty sees now, except an old hazel switch in 
the corner, which I broke into pieces and used 
to kindle the fire. But nothing alive, your 
Majesty ; nothing alive.” 

And King Fearnot never saw Didoze 
again. 


IV. 


Jokkoree. 

Once upon a time there lived a miller by 
the name of Jok, and his wife’s name was Ko, 
and his mare’s name was Rik, and his dog’s 
name was Ree, and his cat’s name was Rorum. 
When his first child was born, and he found it 
was a girl, he called her Jokkorik ; and when 
his second child was born, as it was a son, he 
called it Jokkoree. His wife complained very 
much of these names, saying that they were 
not fit to be given to children ; but the miller, 
who was as whimsical as he was tyrannical, 
bade the good woman to hold her tongue, and 
declared if another child were born, be it boy 
or girl, he would name it Jokkororum. 

The boy and girl grew up, the girl being 
very beautiful and the boy very ugly. Jokko- 
rik was tall and slender, with eyes of violet 
blue, a pure red and white complexion, and 


76 


Fairy Tales. 


long, golden hair. Jokkoree, on the contrary, 
was short, stout, and muscular, with large feet 
and hands, steel-grey eyes, reddish-brown hair 
that was bushy and stiff, and a manner that 
was awkward and constrained, But if he 
were ungainly he was also active and fearless. 
There was not a horse, however wild, that he 
could not ride, nor a wild beast, however 
fierce, that he feared to meet ; indeed, his 
father complained that he was fonder of rid- 
ing and hunting than of attending to the mill. 
But Jokkoree did not neglect his duty. He 
rose early and toiled late, and whenever the 
great mill-wheel was turning he was busy. 
And he was as kind hearted and frank and 
indifferent to praise or censure, as his sister 
was cruel and deceitful and vain. Yet, be- 
cause Jokkoree was so very ugly and had a 
wide mouth and a big nose, his mother dis- 
liked and neglected him, and lavished all her 
love upon his sister ; while his father only 
looked upon him as one who was strong 
enough to help him in the mill-work, and was 
easy to manage. 

Out in the forest near the mill — a forest 


Jokkoree. 77 

which belonged to the Grand Duke of Klein- 
erberg, and where his Serene Highness and 
the nobles of the Court often came to hunt, 
there lived an old hermit with a beard as 
white as snow, and a body so thin that its 
owner looked like a living skeleton in a serge 
gown. To this hermit Jokkoree had always 
been kind when the old man came to the mill 
to beg a little flour, and in return the hermit 
taught him not only to read and write, but to 
do a great many other things. He showed 
him how to use a sword and handle a lance, 
for the hermit had been a knight of renown 
as well as a learned man in his time. He grew 
kinder and kinder to the boy every day, and 
at length, finding death about to overtake him, 
gave him three things which he said might 
prove of use as he grew older : the Sword of 
Potency, the Staff of Extension, and the 
Shoes of Endurance. The sword would cut 
through anything, no matter how hard it 
might be ; the staff, at the will of the wearer, 
would enlarge or diminish, or change itself 
into any article ever fashioned out of wood ; 
and the shoes had this quality, that he who 


7 8 Fairy Tales. 

wore them was never tired, no matter how 
long he walked or how fast he might run, nor 
was he bent down no matter how heavy the 
burthen he might bear. Having explained 
all this, the hermit died, and Jokkoree buried 
him in his cave, in a spot which the hermit had 
hollowed out long before for this very purpose. 

When Jokkorik was about ten years old, 
there was born a little sister, and the miller, 
according to his promise, named her Jokkoro- 
rum. And the little girl grew up to be the 
most beautiful girl that was ever seen, and to 
be as amiable in disposition as she was lovely 
in person. But before she was quite sixteen 
years old, the father and mother both died 
within a month of each other, leaving their 
estate to Jokkorik and Jokkoree, and com- 
mending Jokkororum to the joint care of her 
brother and sister; and Jokkoree, a week 
after the death of his mother, leaving his share 
of the property for the support of his younger 
sister, took with him the sword and staff and 
shoes of the hermit, and mounting the best 
horse in the stable, went forth to seek his 
fortune, 


Jokkoree. 79 

So soon as he was gone, Jokkorik, who 
hated her younger sister because every one 
preferred her, insisted that Jokkororum should 
go into the kitchen, and become a scullion 
there, and Jokkororum had to submit. But, 
one day, the son of the Grand Duke, the 
Prince Prettyboi, fatigued with his hunting, 
stopped with his attendants at the mill, and 
asked for a glass of water. Jokkorik curtsied 
and blushed, and ordered Jokkororum to fetch 
it, which she did. Though the young girl was 
meanly clad, and marked with the tokens of 
her menial service, she was so beautiful and 
graceful, that when she had retired the Prince 
asked who she was. 

“ Only my scullion,” answered Jokkorik. 

Every day afterwards the Prince came to 
hunt in the forest, and every day stopped to 
crave a drink of water. Jokkorik thought 
that she had fascinated him by her own 
charms; but one day when Jokkororum hap- 
pened to be absent, the Prince inquired after 
her so very anxiously that the elder sister at 
once saw her error. After the Prince had 
gone, when Jokkororum returned, her sister 


So 


Fairy Tales. 

met her with reproaches and abuse, and, after 
beating her, drove her from the house, and 
told her never to come back again. And 
when the Prince returned next day, and learned 
of this, he caused inquiries to be made, and 
found that the young girl, after being traced 
into the country of Dunderland, had entirely 
disappeared. 

Wishing to fathom this mystery, and anx- 
ious again to see Jokkororum, whose true 
condition he now discovered, he left Court and 
set out all alone upon his travels. 

Meanwhile, Jokkoree had gone from one 
country to another without meeting any re- 
markable adventures, and, finding his purse 
was getting lighter, had returned by a differ- 
ent way. When he was about two days’ jour- 
ney from Kleinerberg, he stopped for the 
night on the edge of a huge forest, at the 
cottage of a woodman. In the morning, as 
he was preparing to go, he looked upward and 
saw in the distance a high rock, on which 
stood a huge castle, with three slender towers 
in front, which glittered in the rays of the 
morning sun. He inquired of the peasant 




Jokkoree. 8 r 

with whom he had lodged what building that 
was. 

“ That,” said his host, “ is the castle of the 
giant Steelbody, the great enchanter. He is 
the terror of all Dunderland, and the King 
would share his kingdom with the man who 
would destroy him.” 

“ Why has he not been killed before this, 
by some stout knight of the kingdom ?” 

“It is easy to see, young sir, that you are a 
stranger,” replied the peasant. “Not only is 
the castle impregnable, and built on an inac- 
cessible rock, but whoever ventures into the 
valley around it falls within the power of his 
sorcery, and is obliged to do his will. He 
pretends to treat them fairly too. It is said 
that he sets them three tasks, and if they do 
these, he will give them all his possessions; 
but if they fail, then he changes them to 
statues of brass, to adorn his great hall. Only 
the other day, a beautiful young girl, though 
she was meanly dressed, wandered there, and 
was changed to a statue ; and when I de- 
scribed her to a young cavalier who stopped 
here, he went madly in pursuit of her, and per- 


S>2 Fairy Tales. 

ished too, doubtless, as nothing was seen or 
heard of him afterward. The King’s daughter 
once ventured there, or stayed there by some 
accident, but never returned.” 

“ And did not the King send his soldiers to 
the castle to rescue her ? ” 

“ It would be useless, even if he came out 
to meet them. He has made his body, by 
magic, as hard as steel, — whence his name, — 
and swords and lances only shiver when they 
strike him.” 

“ I will seek this giant, and destroy him,” 
said Jokkoree. 

The peasant endeavoured to dissuade him, 
but in vain. The young man mounted his 
horse, and spurred on toward the castle, staff 
in hand, while his sword jingled at his side in 
the scabbard, as though it were calling him to 
the enterprise. 

Jokkoree soon arrived at a high stone wall, 
along which he rode for some time without 
discovering any entrance. At last he came to 
a gap where the stones had fallen, and thus 
was enabled to pass. He found himself in a 
beautiful garden, filled with choice fruit-trees, 




“ 4 IT SHALL NOT BE MY FAULT,’ SAID STEELBODY, ‘IF YOU DO NOT 
STAY WITH ME A VERY LONG TIME. V’ 






t 



Jokkoree 83 

parterres of flowers, and beautiful fountains. 
As he gazed around him, he saw a huge giant 
advancing, whom he rightly conjectured to be 
no other than Steelbody himself. 

The giant, who was attended by a number 
of servants, put on a friendly air, and wel- 
comed Jokkoree as though he were exceed- 
ingly pleased by his visit, inviting him to en- 
ter the castle. 

“ It shall not be my fault,” said he, “if you 
do not stay with me a very long time." 

Jokkoree understood the hidden meaning 
of these words, but he followed the giant to 
the rock, where a huge door opened of its 
own accord, and revealed a flight of stone 
steps, which they ascended, and which led 
them into the main hall of the castle. 

The youth had never even dreamed of any- 
thing so splendid. The walls, the pillars that 
supported the roof, and the lofty ceiling were 
of ebony inlaid with gold, and studded with 
diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and other pre- 
cious stones ; and the floor was laid in agate 
and lapis lazuli. On either side of the hall 
were pedestals, each bearing a statue of 


8 4 


Fairy Tales. 

bronze. In one of these Jokkoree recognised 
the figure of Jokkororum, and he started. 

The giant noticed his surprise, but mistook 
the cause. “Ah! I see you notice one va- 
cant pedestal. It lacks one statue to com- 
plete the collection, but I expect to have that 
in three days.” 

He then led Jokkoree to the great ban- 
queting-room, where they found a collation 
ready, which was served by numerous ser- 
vants richly attired. When this was over, 
there was a concert of music ; after which, 
Jokkoree was shown to a chamber of equal 
richness with the other apartments, and here, 
without any fear of harm, he went to sleep. 

The next morning, after he had eaten 
breakfast, which was served to him in bed, 
and dressed himself, the giant entered the 
chamber. 

“ I hope you have been pleased at your en- 
tertainment,” he said. Jokkoree bowed in 
reply. 

“ There is a price to be paid for it,” contin- 
ued Steelbody. “ I shall be compelled to ask 
you to do me three favours — to set three tasks 


Jokkoree* 85 

for you, in fact. If you succeed in all these, 
you are master of this castle and all it con- 
tains. If you fail in either, you will change 
into a statue of bronze, and stand upon the 
vacant pedestal.” 

“ I am ready,” answered Jokkoree. 

“ Come with me, then,” said the giant, “ to 
the valley below.” 

Jokkoree followed him, and when there the 
giant went on to say : 

“Ten miles from this, on my grounds, are 
six stones, each as heavy as you can carry. 
You must go there and bring them, one by 
one, to this place, between now and sunset. 
The road is plain — the path is before you. I 
leave you to your labour, while I return to the 
castle. At sunset I will be here.” 

The giant left him, and Jokkoree, lacing 
the Shoes of Endurance tightly on his feet, 
ran directly on the path that stretched straight 
before him. He soon arrived where the stones 
lay, and grasping one, put it on his shoulder. 
It was certainly heavy, but the quality of the 
shoes he wore, as the hermit had told him, 
prevented fatigue, and he readily brought it 


86 


Fairy Tales* 

to the foot of the rock, running all the way 
with the greatest ease. In this way he made 
six journeys to and fro, and it was not yet 
noonday when he had completed his labour. 
When he had done it, he knocked loudly at 
the great door in the rock. As he did so, he 
heard a crash, and looking up he found that 
one of the three towers which made the front 
of the castle had fallen, and the fragments of 
stone had poured down on the very spot 
where he had stood a few moments before. 

The giant made his appearance, with a 
vexed look. 

“So you have completed your task early. 
That gives you a chance to do the second be- 
fore the sun sets. You see yonder tree, with 
golden fruit in the upper branches ? A bas- 
ket hangs up there. You will be kind enough 
to get to the top, fill the basket with the fruit, 
and when you have brought it down carry it 
up to the great hall of the castle where I shall 
await you.” 

So saying, the giant entered the portal, and 
the door closed. 

Jokkoree looked at the tree, and found 


87 


Jokkoree* 

the trunk, which was slender and lofty, was 
studded thickly with bright steel points, as 
sharp as razors, extending in every direction, 
rendering it impossible to climb. But the 
youth was nowise daunted at that. He re- 
membered his Staff of Extension. Placing 
that before him, he wished it to become a lad- 
der long enough to reach to the first branch 
of the tree. The staff split in two, and went 
upward, rounds appearing between the two 
parts as it climbed, until it finally rested 
where desired. Up this ladder Jokkoree as- 
cended, and, taking the basket, speedily filled 
it with the golden fruit. Then he descended, 
the ladder shrank back again into a staff, and 
Jokkoree, with his basket on his arm, knocked 
at the great door in the rock, which opened 
as before. As it did this, there was a great 
crash, and a second tower of the castle fell. 

The giant met him in the hall, and took the 
basket of fruit which Jokkoree offered. He 
was very pale, and said, — 

“ You have performed two of the tasks ; but 
the third is more difficult. Take the sword 
which I see you wear by your side, and strike 


88 Fairy Tales* 

off my head. If you fail in that, you are 
lost.” 

Jokkoree drew his sword, and the giant 
bent his head low that it might be reached, 
while a malignant twinkle in his eye showed 
his faith in the invulnerability of his body to 
all weapons. The youth trembled, for he re- 
membered what the peasant had told him ; but 
he also remembered what the hermit had said, 
and how the shoes and staff had proved them- 
selves. So he drew his sword and smote lustily. 

There was a crash, and the last of the three 
towers fell, as the head of the giant rolled 
upon the floor. At the same moment the 
statues changed into living forms, stepped 
from their pedestals, and crowded around 
their deliverer. Jokkororum threw herself 
in the arms of her brother, while Prince 
Prettyboi gazed at her in admiration. 

There were knights and dames, nobles and 
burghers, who pressed around to thank Jok- 
koree ; and one of the ladies, whom the rest 
recognised and paid deference to, gave him 
her hand to kiss. This was the Princess 
Brytize, the only daughter of the puissant 


Jokkoree* 89 

Woodenhed, King of all Dunderland. And 
the servants all hastened to acknowledge Jok- 
koree as their master, and as heir, by the 
terms of the three achieved tasks, to the titles 
and estate of Steelbody, Count of Aircastle 
and Lord Nozoo. 

King Woodenhed fulfilled his promise, and 
gave over half of Dunderland to Jokkoree, 
who reigned as king there. But as the old 
King had no son, he made his co-king marry 
the Princess Brytize, that the whole realm 
might be kept in the family. 

Jokkoree and Jokkororum, who was after- 
ward married to Prince Prettyboi, forgave 
Jokkorik, and King Jokkoree invited her to 
his Court, where she married a great noble, 
Count Henpekt, with whom she became tol- 
erably happy. At least, the noble count 
seemed very proud of her ; for he said she 
was of that amiable disposition that he did 
not believe there was any one in the world, 
excepting King Jokkoree, and the Crown 
Princess of Kleinerberg, and himself, whom 
she hated very intensely. Considering the 
former character of the Countess Jokkorik, 
this was very high praise indeed. 


V. 


The Black Cat* 

Once upon a time, in the great kingdom of 
Nomansland, which borders on the Mythical 
Ocean, and is bounded by the principality of 
Bosh on one side and the empire of Fancy on 
the other, there stood, on the banks of a swift 
and shallow brook, and against a huge grey 
rock, an old mill. It was, in truth, a very old 
mill, and fast falling into decay. The founda- 
tion had sunk a little on one corner, and the 
timbers had followed it, giving the building 
an air of decrepitude : the roof had numerous 
rents, and an abundance of leak-holes in its 
moss-covered thatch ; the boards that covered 
the frame-work had dropped off here and 
there, while those that remained were warped 
and cracked with age and the weather, as 
well as covered with lichens ; and even the 
mill-wheel, upon which the business of the 


The Black Cat# 


9 1 


place so much depended, was well stricken in 
years, and had been robbed by Time of some 
of its floats, and deprived by an accident of 
one of its arms, so that, instead of turning 
with a decorous and orderly motion, it went 
around with a succession of jerks, as though 
its temper had been soured and its patience 
lost through age and misfortune. Yet the 
mill itself was one of that kind on which the 
eye of an observer, unless he be a miller, rests 
with pleasure, since its very crumbling look 
and the moss that covered it harmonised 
with the grey rock behind it, and the grass 
and trees around ; though for the actual 
purposes of a mill, it was a very sorry place 
indeed. 

But, bad as a mill may be through age and 
decay, it can be made much worse through 
having nothing to do. A mill, like a little 
boy or girl, must be kept busy part of its 
time, or it speedily falls to ruin. Now the 
mill was willing enough to work, and so was 
the miller, but the heat of the summer had 
been very great, and had dried up the springs 
of the brook. The springs refusing to flow, 


92 


Fairy Talcs* 

the brook could not run ; the brook not run- 
ning, the wheel would not turn ; and the 
wheel not turning, the stones would not grind. 
So, after waiting for some days, and seeing 
no prospect of rain, the customers carried 
their grist elsewhere to be ground, and left 
the miller by himself, to consider his troubles 
as he best might. 

The miller was a very young miller indeed, 
not being over twenty years old. He was 
the son of an old soldier who had been an 
esquire to a poor knight in the wars, and, 
having received a wound in Palestine which 
disabled him for life, had come back to his 
native country with enough money to buy this 
mill, and live there with his son, his wife hav- 
ing died while he was away. Here he not 
only managed to earn a livelihood, but to put 
away some groats for the future ; and when 
he died, which was about two years before our 
story opens, he left his son his blessing, with 
the mill and a leathern bag full of silver 
crowns. 

Now when the drought came and the stream 
dwindled to a silver thread, and then sank 


The Black Cat* 


93 


entirely, Hubert — for that was the name of 
the boy — was not much troubled. Rain 
would come, he thought, in its own good time ; 
and even if it waited until late in the autumn, 
was there not the leathern bag filled with 
silver, and would that not keep him in com- 
fort until the waters rose ? But when the toll- 
meal was nearly out and Hubert went to look 
for the bag, he found that some one had been 
before him. The bag was indeed there ; but, 
instead of presenting a plump appearance, its 
leathern sides were shrunk and shriveled. 
All the money had been carried away with 
the exception of three silver groats ; and, live 
as frugally as he might, these would not keep 
their owner in food longer than six weeks. 
Still, all he could do was to wait patiently and 
see if the rains would fall, and the waters rise, 
and the wheel go round, and the stones turn, 
and people come again with their corn to be 
ground. 

One day as he was seated at the mill-door 
peering into the sky in search of clouds, he 
heard a faint cry near him, and, looking down, 
beheld a black cat that was rubbing its head 


94 Fairy Tales. 

against his legs, and trying to make itself 
agreeable. 

It was a sorry cat to look at. It seemed to 
be little more than a mass of bones over 
which a ragged skin had been tightly drawn, 
and it was covered with scars and bruises — 
showing that it had been pelted by unruly 
boys and chased by savage dogs, had been 
used to too little food and too much harsh 
usage. The heart of Hubert was filled with 
pity for the lone and friendless animal, in 
spite of its gauntness and ugliness, and he set 
before it some porridge, which the poor crea- 
ture hastily devoured. When it had eaten 
its fill it came up to him again, suffered him 
to stroke it, rubbed its head against him, 
purred, and showed every sign of gratitude. 

“You have sought a poor master,” said 
Hubert; “but you are wretched and an out- 
cast, and shall share with me my food so long 
as I have any.” 

The cat gave a loud purr as though in reply, 
and then curled itself up on an old rug and 
went to sleep. 

By the end of the week the cat had grown 


The Black Cat* 


95 


sleek and in good condition, and was such a 
handsome animal, as well as such an indus- 
trious mouser — though it was noticed that 
she never ate the mice she caught — that Hu- 
bert grew proud as well as fond of her, and 
bestowed on her constant caresses, to which 
she responded by every possible sign of cat 
friendship. 

She was a very black cat indeed, and her 
fur long and glossy ; but there was an excep- 
tion to this in five long white hairs that stood 
in a tuft upon the top of her head, midway 
between the ears. This was a blemish, and 
Hubert determined to get rid of it. To pluck 
them all out at once would inflict some pain, 
and therefore he would not get rid of them in 
that way ; but he thought that to remove 
them one by one, at intervals, would produce 
no inconvenience to his favourite. So one 
evening, as she was seated in his lap, where 
she liked to nestle, he managed to pull out 
one of these white hairs, and immediately 
burned it in the rush-light that stood before 
him on the table. 

Hardly had the faint odour of the single 


96 


Fairy Talcs* 

burned hair come upon his nostrils when he 
heard a crash behind him, and turning around 
saw that a panel had disengaged itself from the 
wainscoting and had fallen to the floor. He 
put the cat gently down, and rose to replace 
the piece of wood, when he saw a recess in 
the wall so bared, and in this a hammer and 
a linen bag. Hoping that it contained money 
he opened the latter, but found its contents 
to be only nails. 

“Well,” he said, “ this is a disappointment ; 
but the mill-wheel and the mill both need re- 
pairing, and these will be useful. So you and 
I, Pussy, will go to work to-morrow, though 
I question if the boards will stand much ham- 
mering.” 

He replaced the panel, fastened it, and 
without thinking more of the hairs, went to 
bed. 

The next morning Hubert commenced the 
repairing of the mill. To his great astonish- 
ment the boards not only bore the hammering 
without flinching, but wherever they were 
struck the moss would drop off, and the wood 
show itself sound and apparently new beneath. 


The Black Cat* 


97 


As there was a deal of hammering to do the 
wood improved accordingly, and at the end of 
a week the mill seemed almost like a new build- 
ing, and as for the mill-wheel, it looked as 
though it had been recently made and fitted 
to its place. Hubert rubbed his eyes in won- 
der. The old mill had lost its greyness, and, 
when he had propped up the sunken corner, 
seemed to be a very smart building, and likely 
to stand a long and successful contest with 
wear and tear and the winds and rain. 

But there was no rain, and there was the 
trouble. All this smartness of appearance, 
and soundness of the structure, and capability 
of the mill-wheel, seemed to be of no particu- 
lar use so long as there was no water in the 
brook. Hubert finally put the hammer away, 
and at the close of the day sat down to amuse 
himself with the black cat. 

u The loss of that hair didn’t seem to trouble 
you,” said Hubert to the cat; “so I’ll even 
rid you of another in the same way.” 

Thus saying, he pulled out another hair, 
which he burned in the rush-light as before. 

The moment that the hair had been con- 


98 Fairy Talcs* 

sumed, another panel of the wainscoting fell 
from its place to the floor with a crash. 
Hubert went to replace it, and, as before, 
found a recess, in which was, not a hammer 
and bag of nails, but a small vial, corked, 
and containing a clear and transparent liquid. 

“ This seems to be water,” said Hubert, as 
he examined it, “but it may be poison. If 
it be water, it is too little to be of service ; if 
it be poison, it is dangerous to have here. As 
the bottle may be useful, I will empty its con- 
tents out of doors.” 

So he went out to the brook-side, and, after 
uncorking the vial, poured its contents on the 
ground. Just as he did so a rush like the 
wings of some huge bird passed him, the 
wind began to rise rapidly, and there was a 
sudden dampness all around him. The sky 
darkened with huge clouds, and he had barely 
time to enter the house before the rain began 
to pour down in a fierce torrent which con- 
tinued without cessation until morning. 

When Hubert arose, he found the rain had 
ceased and the sky was clear. The sun was 
shining warmly, and all was bright and beau- 


The Black Cat 


99 


tiful. But the bed of the brook was filled, 
and it was swollen until it seemed like a river. 
Long before noon, as far as the eye could 
reach, was to be seen a procession of horses, 
mules, and donkeys, some led and others rid- 
den, but each bearing a bag of grist on its 
back, and all on their way to the mill ; for the 
flood had swept all the other mills away in its 
fury, and Hubert’s only remained to supply 
the needs of the people around. So, for a 
week, until matters could be mended, Hubert’s 
mill was the only resource. It could scarcely 
supply the demand fast enough, and Hubert 
was obliged to hire a journeyman to assist him, 
while the wheel turned merrily, and bag after 
bag of the toll-corn accumulated in the granary. 

A week after the freshet, Hubert, worn out 
with the toil of the day, sat with his cat on 
his lap. 

“ This has been a good week’s work,” he 
said, “ and if it continue, I shall be able to get 
me a new doublet and trunk hose, which I 
want sadly, for indeed my whole wardrobe 
needs replenishing. As for you, Miss Pussy, 
as you seem not to mind losing those ugly 


ioo Fairy Tales* 

white hairs, I’ll just pull out another, with 
your permission.” 

So he plucked a third hair, and burned it in 
the candle as before. The moment it blazed 
up in the light a crash was heard, and a third 
panel of the wainscoting fell. 

Hubert sprang up, and beheld a recess 
deeper and wider than either of the others, in 
which there stood three huge trunks. He 
lifted the lid of one, and found beneath a 
number of plumed and jewelled caps, and 
boots of buff leather and shoes of velvet, and 
the finest silken hose. He lifted the lid of 
a second, and there was a store of linen gar- 
ments, beautifully stitched and elaborately 
embroidered, and of such elegant workman- 
ship and rare fineness of material as he had 
never before seen. He then examined the 
third trunk, which was filled with rich dresses 
of silk and fine cloth and velvet, and on top 
of them lay the pieces of a suit of armour of 
Milan steel, inlaid with gold, and a sword of 
Damascus, with the hilt studded with dia- 
monds. Above the trunks a roll seemed to lie 
in a deep recess. Hubert drew it forth, and 


The Black Cat. 


IOI 


it proved to be a knightly lance with a bright 
point and a polished ashen staff. 

“This is all very curious,” said Hubert; 
“ but I cannot wear these here, and I may as 
well put them carefully away.” 

So he brought out the trunks, and put them 
in a corner, and went to bed, and slept long 
and soundly. 

During the whole week the customers came 
flocking to the mill, for the other mills were 
not quite in order yet, and when the Saturday 
night came, Hubert began to think it was 
time to fix a day to grind up his own grist. 
So he sat down, with his cat on his lap, to con- 
sider on the matter. 

“To be sure,” he said, “ I have beautiful 
dresses, such as a prince might wear ; but I 
ought to be rich to be so finely clad, or I 
would be no better than a jackdaw in the 
plumes of a peacock. If I had only plenty of 
money, now — but that is like wishing for the 
moon. Pussy, there are only two hairs left ; 
I must have one of them.” 

So saying, he pulled it out, and burned it 
in the flame of the candle. 


102 


Fairy Tales. 

A crash again, and the last panel of the 
wainscoting on that side of the house fell. 
Hubert jumped up eagerly, and there, in a 
recess, stood a great pile of bags, and on 
shelves a number of beautiful caskets. Each 
bag that he opened was filled with golden 
pieces, and after examining two or three, he 
turned to the caskets. These were each 
about a foot square. One of them contained 
pearls of the finest water, and as large as 
pigeons’ eggs ; another held diamonds ; a 
third, rubies ; a fourth, emeralds ; a fifth, sap- 
phires ; and so on, through all the precious 
stones known. 

“ It seems to me,” said Hubert, after he 
had a little recovered from his wonder, “that 
I am rich enough ; but I ought to be a great 
man with all this wealth, and have horses and 
retainers and men-at-arms. And now I think 
of it, all these fine things came after I had 
pulled out a white hair from the black cat. 
There is still one hair left. I don’t want to 
hurt your feelings, Pussy, but really, if you 
have no objection ” 

The cat seemed as though she understood 


The Black Cat* 103 

him, for she put her head up to his hand, and 
stood patiently, but she trembled all over. 
Then Hubert took the hair, pulled it out, and 
burned it in the flame of the candle. 

A crash almost like a clap of thunder shook 
the mill. The cat disappeared, and in its 
stead there stood a tall and beautiful young 
lady, clad in black velvet, with five white 
plumes on her head, and at her feet lay a 
dried cat-skin. The side of the room next the 
rock at the same moment dissolved, and 
showed a long row of stables, with steeds 
splendidly caparisoned, men in armour, and 
grooms, and a stately esquire who stood by 
the handsomest horse of them all, a jet-black 
Arabian, with five white tufts of hair on his 
forehead. 

“ Hubert," said the lady, “ I am the fairy 
Catanoira, who fell under the power of my 
enemy, the ogre Growlando, who quarreled 
with me because I refused to marry him. 
He is an adept in sorcery, and resorted to 
arts which are forbidden to fairies. By means 
of these he condemned me to take the form 
in which you first saw me, in which I was to 


104 


Fairy Tales* 

remain until some one who had taken pity on 
my forlorn condition should burn, one by one, 
the five white hairs on my head. This having 
been done, his power over me would cease. 
And now, to prove that I am not ungrateful, 
ask anything of me that it is in my power to 
grant, and it shall be yours.” 

“Beautiful Catanoira,” said Hubert, “I 
have enough wealth, and all the arms and ap- 
parrel of a knight, through you. I know of 
nothing that would make my happiness per- 
fect, unless it were your hand ; and it is per- 
haps too much for a miller, and the son of a 
miller, to ask a powerful and lovely fairy to 
be his bride.” 

The fairy blushed as she answered : “We 
fairies are not apt to conceal our feelings, as 
do mortal women, and I am content to marry 
you, for since I have lived in my enchanted 
shape under your roof I have learned to love 
you. But you must remember, that in marry- 
ing a mortal, I become a mortal myself ; that 
I lose thereby my power, and am no more than 
any other young woman whom you might have 
chosen to share your heart and fortunes.” 


The Black Cat. 


1 05 

With this declaration Hubert was only the 
more charmed. In due time the wedding 
was celebrated with great rejoicings ; and 
from this union there sprang the great house 
of Catanoir-Criesach, that so long reigned in 
the duchy of Criesach, and is now one of the 
noblest of the princely houses of Europe. 


j 


VL 


The Three Gifts* 

Once upon a time, in the land of Nowhere, 
there stood, in the centre of a wide plain, a 
high and rocky hill, on top of which was an 
old castle. In this castle there dwelt a giant 
named Doubtful. This giant was then poor, 
although at one time he had been very rich. 
He had owned the country for miles and miles 
around, with its mansions, villages, and fertile 
farms, and had had hundreds of vassals. But, 
from time to time, his possessions had slipped 
from his hands, and his vassals had been trans- 
ferred to other masters, until he was left with 
a barren hill, a few sterile acres around it, the 
old castle, and one serving-man, who would 
not leave him, though he was not always sure 
of a meal. The giant might possibly have 
bettered his fortune by some exertion, but he 
was always undecided as to what he should 


The Three Gifts* 


107 

do, and so he suffered his life to drift on as it 
might. 

Down at the foot of the hill dwelt a dwarf 
named Try. He had cornea year before, and 
asked the giant if he might build himself a 
hut there on the barren ground. He was a 
bright, h*vely little fellow, and the giant took 
pity cm him. “ The ground is rocky and 
poor,” said Doubtful, “ but if you think you 
can make anything out of it, you are welcome. 
I give you an acre of ground, on the edge of 
my land, to belong to you and yours forever ; 
but I warn you that it is of no value.” 

Try thanked him, and set to work dili- 
gently. With the larger stones on the land 
he soon built a hut, which he covered with 
boughs brought from the neigbouring forest, 
and he thatched these with sedge-grass. 

Then he easily found work in the forest, for 
he was a skilled wood-chopper ; and, on com- 
ing home at night, he toiled for hours on his 
own plot of ground. 

Gradually he cleared the place of loose 
stones, and with them built a wall around his 
acre. He brought peat from the bogs, and, 


108 Fairy Tales. 

by permission of the owners, leaves from the 
forest, and the giant gave him the ashes from 
his fire. With these he made a large muck- 
heap, which he then used to make the land 
fertile. In the course of time, the giant 
looked down upon a blooming garden beneath 
him, and at a stone hut on whose rough walls 
the blossoming vines clambered ; and he ad- 
mired the perseverance and industry of his 
little neighbour. 

By and by, the giant, because he was lonely 
in his castle, used to go down and talk |with 
the little man, who had given up wood-chop- 
ping, and depended on his garden for a liveli- 
hood. Try had bought some adjoining acres 
from the owners, who were glad to get rid of 
their poor land at a trifle, and this land he im- 
proved as he had improved the first, and thus 
prospered greatly. The giant began to be 
very fond of this cheery and busy dwarf, and 
the dwarf returned this fondness ; so, the two 
soon became fast friends. 

Now, the dwarf was a generous fellow, and 
any one who came along in need received 
from him a day’s work and a night’s lodging, 


The Three Gifts. 


109 

with plenty to eat, and, at parting, the wages 
of his labour. But to those who were very 
old, or very young, or weak, or infirm, he 
gave the food and lodging without asking for 
anything in return. 

One evening, just at nightfall, there came 
along an old woman, who craved charity. Try 
gave her a supper, a night’s lodging, and 
breakfast, and, as she was leaving, offered her 
a small piece of money. 

But the old woman said to him : “ I always 
pay for my food and bed in some way, and as 
I have no money, I offer you this, which I beg 
you to take, and luck go with it.” Then she 
handed him a necklace of rough stones, strung 
together. 

“ But what is this ? ” asked Try, “and what 
am I to do with it ? ” 

The old woman replied: “It is the neck- 
lace of Strength, and whoever wears it can 
contend with any one. Travel !” Then she 
departed without further words. 

When the giant came down that day to 
chat with Try, he saw the stones around the 
neck of the dwarf, and asked him what they 


no 


Fairy Tales. 


were. Then Try told him, and also from 
whom he had obtained them. 

“ They can be tested very readily,” said the 
giant. “ Suppose you pull against me, and 
learn whether they have made you any 
stronger than you were.” 

The dwarf and the giant pulled against 
each other, and, to the astonishment of both, 
Try dragged Doubtful all over the place with 
the greatest ease. 

“ There is something in the necklace, after 
all,” said Doubtful ; “and while you were pull- 
ing me around, I think I must have pulled 
you out a little ; for yesterday and this morn- 
ing your head was only as high as my knee, 
and now, as I stand here, I can just touch your 
head with my hand, without stooping a bit.” 

Try found it to be as the giant said. 

That evening, an old man, who carried a 
long and narrow package, came and begged 
for food and a bed, both of which Try gave 
him. The next morning, the dwarf bade his 
guest godspeed, and gave him some food to 
take with him. 

But the old man said to him : “ I am always 


The Three Gifts* 


nr 


able to pay my way, although I have no 
•money.” Thus saying, he undid the package, 
from which he took a huge two-handed sword, 
and this he presented to Try. 

“ What is this, and what am I to do with 
it?” asked Try. 

The old man replied : “ This is the sword of 
Courage, and with this you may smite through 
steel and brass, and the solid rock, for nothing 
can resist it. Travel ! ” 

Having said this, the old man went away. 

When the giant came down that day, he 
saw the sword hanging on the wall, and in- 
quired about it of Try, who told him. 

“ I doubt very much the power of the 
weapon,” said Doubtful ; “ but it is easy to 
test it.” 

Try took the sword, and going to the hill, at 
a place where a crag projected, struck the rock 
with the sword. It did not seem to be much 
of a blow, but the weapon went through as 
though the stone had been turf, and it shaved 
off about a half-ton fragment, which fell and 
rolled over, and half-buried itself in the ground. 

“ A potent weapon, truly,” remarked the 


1 12 


Fairy Tales. 

giant ; “ but it seems to me you are growing, 
or I am getting smaller. Yesterday, I could 
just touch your head with my hand as I stood 
erect, and to-day you are nearly up to my 
waist." 

And it was just as he said. 

That evening, there came along a small boy, 
bearing a package, and he asked for something 
to eat, and for shelter for the night. These 
Try gave him, and the next morning, seeing 
that the boy was weak and puny, Try offered 
him some small coins, and wished him speed. 

But the boy replied : “ Poor as I am, I in- 
tend always to pay for what I get, and get 
what I pay for. Here in this bundle are the 
shoes of Ambition, which are of no service to 
me, and I give them to you in return for what 
I have had.” 

“ But of what use are they, and what am I 
to do with them ? ” 

44 With these you may go as fast as you 
will, and not be tired. Wear them, and you 
can make your way over any road, and even 
climb up the side of walls, or trees, or steep 
rocks. Travel!” 


The Three Gifts* 


113 

And the boy ran off. Try looked after 
him, and he saw only an old man moving on 
slowly. Then he looked again, and merely 
saw an old woman, who at length disappeared. 

When the giant came down that day, he 
soon saw that Try wore a pair of new shoes. 

“ Those are very handsome, and look to be 
strong,” he said. “ What did you pay for 
them ? ” 

Try told him all about them. 

“ Have you tried what they can do ? ” asked 
Doubtful. 

“ Not yet, but I shall,” replied Try. 

So he ran along the ground for some dis- 
tance, and, coming to a huge tree, ran up the 
trunk, and seated himself among the branches. 
Then he ran down, and returned. 

“ They are very convenient,” said Doubtful, 
“ and I think I should like a pair from the 
same shop. But, how you do grow ! Yester- 
day, you were nearly up to my waist, and now 
you are three inches above it. In fact, you 
are no longer a dwarf, but a tall, stout young 
man. But what do you intend to do with the 
three gifts ?” 


1 14 Fairy Tales* 

44 To-morrow,” said Try, 44 I intend to set 
out upon long travels in search of adventures 
and a fortune.” 

44 I shall miss you very much,” said the 
giant, 44 but I think I shall go with you, if you 
will have me for a companion.” 

And Try agreed to this. 

The next day, Try put his garden, and the 
giant put his castle, in charge of the serving- 
man. Try girt on his sword, and with his 
necklace around his throat, and his shoes on 
his feet, he started out with the giant, who 
was armed with a huge club, in search of ad- 
ventures. 

After they had travelled for three months, 
and had found nothing remarkable, Doubtful 
grew tired, and went back to his castle, despite 
the persuasion of his comrade; but Try kept 
right on, and that very night came to a hut in 
a valley, where he sought shelter. The in- 
mate of this hut was an old woman, who 
made him welcome. Looking at her closely, 
he saw she was the same who had given him 
the necklace of Strength. 

14 Ah ! my good mother,” said he, “ I have 


The Three Gifts. 


ri 5 

travelled as you told me, and thus far have 
gained nothing thereby.” 

“Your journey is not over,” said she. 
“ Two days from this you will come to a wide 
plain, on which stands a high rock, known as 
Mount Inaccessible. On that rock is a castle 
of steel, and in that castle lives an Ogre. He 
has carried off the Princess Graceful, the 
daughter of King Mikron, and because she 
will not consent to marry him, he keeps her 
locked up in a tall tower that overhangs the 
moat, and feeds her on bread and water. 
Many knights have tried to rescue her, since 
her father has promised her hand and the suc- 
cession to his throne to her deliverer ; but the 
Ogre either has come out and slain them, or, 
if he thought them too powerful, has shut 
himself up in his castle, and defied them. 
The hill is a perpendicular rock, with polished 
sides, and the Ogre leaves and returns to it 
by a huge set of brazen stairs, that rise or fall 
at his pleasure. No one, therefore, has been 
able to scale the hill, nor would they have 
gained thereby, since the castle is built of the 
hardest steel. It is this castle that you must 


n6 Fairy Talcs* 

gain, and slay the Ogre, and deliver the Prin- 
cess of Wonderland.” 

“ How shall I find this castle ? ” 

“To-morrow, when you have gone a mile 
on your journey, my brother will overtake 
you, and be your companion for a day. You 
will lodge with him at nightfall, and he will 
instruct you further. Eat now, and refresh 
yourself, and then go to sleep, for you have a 
long journey before you to-morrow.” 

Try did as he was told, and early the next 
morning bade farewell to the old woman, who 
flung her shoe after him as he set out on his 
journey. After he had gone a mile, he was 
overtaken by an old man, whom he recognised 
as the one who had given him the sword. The 
old man merely nodded his head, but said 
nothing, and thus the two travelled together. 
At nightfall, they reached the old man’s hut, 
where they rested. 

In the morning, the old man said : “ The 
Ogre will not come down to you, for it has 
been foretold to him that he can be overcome 
only by a man without armour, as you now are. 
Entice him out of his stronghold. Scale the 


The Three Gifts* 


117 

rock, and enter his stronghold, or wait until 
he comes out ; but let him not see you. 
When you have gone on from here, and have 
come within a mile of the edge of the plain 
wherein the hill of the Ogre stands, my son, 
who is in the forest, will join you, and instruct 
you further.” 

Try thanked his host, and resumed his 
journey. At a mile beyond the hut, a boy 
came from the wood, and joined him ; and 
Try knew him to be the same who had given 
him the shoes of Ambition. The boy, who 
said his name was Helper, told him all about 
the Princess, of whom he said that she was as 
good as she was beautiful, and that her 
father, who loved her tenderly, had laid siege 
to the castle for a whole year, and finding it 
impossible to take, had at last raised the 
siege, and had gone home to wait for the 
champion who was to deliver her from the 
Ogres power. 

“ But,” continued the boy, “ now that we 
have arrived at the plain, I must leave you. 
Here, in this scrip, are food and drink that 
you may need. Stay here until nightfall, 


1 1 8 Fairy Tales* 

and then go forward in the darkness to the 
rock which you see yonder. Find some spot 
where you can mount. The rock is polished, 
and the shoes of Ambition are useless unless 
there is some roughness over which they may 
travel. But there is no armour without a flaw, 
and some part of the rock, if you look well, 
may serve your turn.” 

So the boy left, and Try waited, concealed 
in the wood, until nightfall, when he made 
his way to the rock, which he reached at mid- 
night, and finding a hiding-place amid the low 
growth at the base of the rock, he lay down, 
and slept until dawn. 

As soon as it was light, Try arose and ex- 
amined the rock, and found it to be polished 
everywhere. But after having gone nearly 
around it, he came to a small crevice that ex- 
tended to the top irregularly, and in this 
crevice a huge ivy had clambered and fixed 
itself. Up this, Try readily made his way, and 
so gained the top. Arrived there, he seemed 
to be no better off than before, for the walls 
had apparently no opening but the great gate, 
and there was a deep moat around the castle, 


The Three Gifts* 


IX 9 

and the drawbridge was up. So Try sat down 
under a projecting rock on the surface to 
consider. 

As he sat there, he could see the plain be- 
fore him, and over it there came a horseman. 
As he rode nearer, Try could see that it was 
the old man, mounted on a powerful charger, 
and bearing a staff in his hand. This he 
brandished in the air, while loudly defying the 
Ogre to single combat. But the Ogre did 
not hear him, or was not disposed to heed, 
for he did not come out, and after an hour 
the old man rode away as he had come. 

At high noon, there came a palfrey on 
which the old woman sat. She rode up to the 
rock and berated the Ogre soundly, calling 
him coward, and a number of other offensive 
names, and daring him to come and talk to 
her. But the Ogre did not hear, or, hearing, 
only felt contempt, and so did not leave his 
stronghold. The old woman, having appar- 
ently exhausted her stock of words, and find- 
ing no good to come of it all, went her way 
and was seen no more. 

Two hours later, there came some one on a 


120 


Fairy Talcs* 

pony, and Try knew him for the boy he had 
left in the forest. This new-comer had no 
weapons, but he bore a small horn, and he 
kept sounding this in a very contemptuous 
and insulting manner. It appeared as if this 
excited the anger of the Ogre, for the draw- 
bridge fell, the gates opened, and the Ogre 
sallied out, and, as the drawbridge rose and 
the gate closed, he made his way to where the 
brazen stairs lay coiled up and waiting for his 
will to unroll them. 

Try sprang forward, sword in hand, and as- 
sailed the Ogre, who defended himself vigour- 
ously. He was stout and strong, and cunning 
of fence ; but the sword of Courage was too 
potent for him. Try clove him in twain at a 
blow, and then turned to enter the castle. 

But here was a new difficulty. The moat 
was impassable even to the shoes of Ambition ; 
the necklace of Strength was useless where no 
grip was to be had ; and the gate was too far 
off to receive a blow from the sword of Cour- 
age. Try wandered around, and for a while 
saw nothing but the blank steel walls. At 
length he came to where a projecting turret 


The Three Gifts* 


1 2 I 


overhung the moat, and he saw that it had 
one window guarded by steel bars. Between 
these there peered a beautiful face, and so he 
knew this was the prison of the Princess. 

As he stood there gazing upward, a ball to 
which a card was attached was thrown from 
the window, and fell at his feet. Try pulled 
the cord, and a silken ladder followed, the 
end of which he fastened to the ground, and 
then he mounted. A few blows with the 
sword of Courage, and the grating was severed 
and fell inward. Try entered, and knelt at 
the feet of the Princess, who raised him 
graciously. 

Try had no more than time to take one 
glance at the beautiful face of the lady, when 
the door of the chamber was thrown open 
violently, and the retainers of the Ogre, eager 
to avenge their master, burst in and assailed 
him. But the sword of Courage did its office. 
One by one, Try slew all his antagonists, and 
then, leading the Princess, he descended the 
stairs to the hall of the castle, opened the 
gate, and lowered the drawbridge. They 
went out to the brazen stairs, that were rolled 


122 


Fairy Talcs* 

up, but the spell of the dead Ogre still bound 
them, and they could not be moved by the 
utmost power which Try could exert. The 
young pair stood five hundred feet above the 
plain, and unable to get down. The Princess 
was as much a prisoner as before, but with a 
companion in misfortune. Try forgot about 
the mode of scaling the rock, and that he 
might descend, safely bearing the Princess, 
by the way he came. The beauty of Graceful 
dazed him. 

Suddenly the Princess remembered, and 
bade Try go to the dead body of the Ogre, 
and remove the ring of Knowledge from his 
finger, for that would render all parts of the 
castle obedient to his will ; had Try known 
this earlier, he would have gained entrance 
by means of the drawbridge and gate. Try 
put on the ring, and, at his wish, the 
great brazen stairs unrolled themselves and 
stretched to the ground below. These they 
descended, and found the boy and the pony, 
and with him were the horse and palfrey that 
had been ridden by the old man and the old 
woman. Try set the Princess upon the pal- 


The Three Gifts* 


123 


frey, mounted the war-horse, and turned to 
speak to the boy ; but he and the pony were 
gone. In their stead was a floating car to 
which three swans were harnessed, and in it 
sat a lady of surpassing beauty, clad in blue 
and gold. 

“Try,” said the lady, “I am the Fairy 
Friendly, who presided at thy birth, and I 
have watched over thee for years. I was the 
boy, and the old man, and the old woman, 
and from me came the three gifts. I have 
summoned hither the King Mikron to receive 
his daughter, and to bestow her on thee in 
marriage. Thou hast been successful be- 
cause thou hast persevered. Go forth, meet 
the King, and be happy.” 

Saying this, she smiled, the swans rose in 
air, and the fairy was borne away in her car. 
The two watched her until she faded from 
their sight, and then rode forward to meet the 
King, whose knights and men-at-arms were 
debouching into the plain, while he galloped 
at great speed far in advance. He received 
them both with tears of joy,*and, after the 
brazen stairs had been made immovable, hs 


124 


Fairy Tales, 

placed a garrison in the castle in the name of 
Try, whom he created Count of Castle Inac- 
cessible. 

After they reached the capital city of Won- 
derland, Try and Graceful were married amid 
great rejoicing. During the honeymoon, Try 
bethought him of his friend the giant, and 
sent to inquire about him. He learnt that 
Doubtful had been obliged to sell his castle, 
and that he and his serving-man were living 
upon Try’s few acres. Try at once sent for 
the giant, who came at the summons. But 
Try, who had been created Prince, and was 
hailed as heir-presumptive, scarcely knew his 
friend. While Try himself had grown so 
high that he towered over those around him, 
Doubtful had shrunk so in his stature as to 
be little more than a dwarf. 

However, Try placed Doubtful near his 
person, and when, some years after, King 
Mikron died, and Try, with his Queen Grace- 
ful, ascended the throne, he made him a great 
lord of his Court, creating him Baron Uncer- 
tain and Count Littlefellow. 


vn. 


Jack the Terrible. 

Once upon a time there lived in the Land 
of Aisklepia an old physician whose name 
was Cure-all. He had made a fortune by the 
practice of his art, and lived very comfortably 
in a large house in the midst of a wide do- 
main. His wife was dead, but he had seven 
sons living. Six of these were tall and stout, 
and could outjump, out run, and outwrestle 
any one in the neighbourhood. The youngest 
son, Jack, was slender, not above the middle 
height, and, though tolerably strong and 
quick, could not compete with his brothers in 
feats of strength and activity. Hence, they 
nicknamed him the Dwarf and Baby Jack, and 
made sport of him. Jack bore this as best he 
could ; but when he became twenty-one years 
old he told his father that his life was miser- 
able, and begged leave to go abroad and seek 


126 


Fairy Tales. 

his fortune. His father gave him permission, 
and with it his blessing. He also gave him 
three things more, with which he might earn 
his living. The first was a small knife, that 
would operate of itself upon any wen or cut 
any substance, however hard. The second 
was a vial of eye-water, that in three applica- 
tions would restore the blind to sight. The 
third was a pot of salve, the virtue of which 
was that anointing with a little of its contents 
would at once heal a broken limb. These he 
took, bade a farewell to his father, to whom 
he promised to return when he had made his 
fortune, and then set out on his journey. 

“ But,” said he, “ it will never do to be* 
known as Jack the Dwarf or Baby Jack. I 
must choose something of more pretence. So 
I shall call myself Jack the Terrible. ” 

Jack travelled all day, and at night came 
where a gnome dwelt in a cave by the road- 
side. Here he craved some food and shelter 
for the night. 

“You can have the shelter," said the 
gnome ; “ but as for the food, you will seek 
to find it. I have to bite off the young shoots 


127 


Jack the Terrible* 

of the bushes and take fruit by my mouth, for, 
in consequence of my terrible disease, I can- 
not use my hands.” 

And the gnome showed his hands to Jack. 
His finger-nails had grown over a yard long, 
and were curved like a sickle and had changed 
into steel. 

“Why don’t you trim them?” inquired 
Jack. 

“ They are so hard that no knife will cut 
them,” replied the gnome. 

“ Then I, Jack the Terrible, am the man 
for your money,” said Jack, “and I shall re- 
lieve you at once.” So he produced his won- 
derful knife, and trimmed the nails speedily. 

The gnome thanked him very much, and 
set to work and helped Jack to prepare sup- 
per ; after which they both went to bed. 

The next morning Jack offered the gnome 
a piece of money for his entertainment ; but 
the gnome refused. 

“ Gold is of no use to me,” said the gnome, 
“ since all the gold and silver in these moun- 
tains belong to me ; and, if you are in want 
of dross of that kind at any time, come to me 


128 


Fairy Tales. 

and you shall be supplied. But I am still 
your debtor. Take this talisman,” and he 
handed him a ring. “ When you come to a 
mountain too high to climb, turn this once 
around on your finger, and the ground will 
open so that you and yours can pass through 
safely.” 

Jack took the ring, thanked the gnome for 
his gift, and set out on his travels. By night- 
fall he came to a large mansion, where a 
wizard dwelt. He went in to seek for food 
and lodging, and found the wizard in the 
courtyard, where he had fallen from a window 
and broken his leg. He asked him what was 
the matter ; and when he learnt it, and that 
his servants had taken advantage of his mis- 
hap to run away, Jack bade him be of good 
cheer, for he would help him. So he took 
out his pot of salve, and, anointing the limb, 
it knit immediately, and the wizard arose and 
thanked him. Then the wizard took up three 
sticks from a pile of fagots, and, changing 
them into three stout servants, bade them 
prepare a meal for him and his benefactor, 
which they did. 


129 


Jack the Terrible* 

Jack lodged there all night, and when he 
had breakfasted in the morning the wizard 
said : “You have helped me, and now I shall 
help you. Gird this sword to your side. 
Whenever you need, strike the point of the 
weapon three times on the ground, and the 
earth will sink as deep as you choose, where 
and how you choose.” 

Jack took the sword and thanked him, and 
continued his journey. He travelled all that 
day, and when night came found himself near 
a small hut, at which he knocked. He heard 
a voice bidding him come in, whereupon he 
opened the door and entered. 

He found there a little old woman, seated 
by the fire, who asked him what he wanted. 
And when he told her, she said: “You can 
sleep here and eat what you can find ; but I 
am a witch, and they say I am wicked, and I 
know I am blind.” 

Jack was a little afraid, but he plucked up 
courage and said : “ I don’t know that you 
are wicked, good mother ; and, if you are, I 
am Jack the Terrible, and why should I fear? 
You are old, and so would my mother be, if 


130 Fairy Talcs* 

she were alive ; and hence I pay you respect. 
As to your being blind, that is nothing ; for, 
if you will let me wash your eyes with the 
water I have in this vial, you will soon be 
able to see.” 

So the old woman said he might try. Jack 
washed her eyes, and asked her if she could 
see. 

44 There is a glimmer of light, and nothing 
more,” said the old woman. 

Jack washed her eyes again, and asked her 
if she could see. 

“ Dimly. You are a young man and have 
what seems to be a sword by your side.” 

Jack washed her eyes a third time, and 
asked her if she could see. 

44 Bravely, my young master ! ” said the 
witch. 44 Thanks to you. And now you shall 
have supper. Puss!” 

And when she called him her cat came out 
of the back room, with his pipe in his mouth, 
and made a low bow to the strange young 
gentleman. 

“ Puss,” said the witch, 44 go in the forest 
and catch us some birds for supper.” 


Jack the Terrible* 13 1 

So the cat went out, and presently returned 
with a dozen of fat birds, which he spitted 
and broiled by the fire. And then he spread 
the table, and Jack and the witch sat down at 
it, and the cat waited on them ; and while they 
were eating he slily made a meal himself. And, 
after supper, the cat showed Jack to a bed in 
the loft, where he slept soundly until morning. 

The next day he offered the witch pay ; 
but she declined it. 

“ Keep your money, Jack,” said she. “ Now 
that I have my eyesight and Puss is with me, 
we can both get along well enough. But I 
owe you something. Put this blue feather in 
your cap. Whenever you wave it and say 
‘ Grow ! * a forest will spring up, a hundred 
miles long and a mile in width, for every time 
you wave the feather." 

Jack put the feather in his cap, thanked the 
witch, nodded farewell to the cat, and pursued 
his travels. By noon he came to a high range 
of mountains. The ascent was so steep that 
Jack bethought him of his first talisman, and 
turned the ring upon his finger, whereupon 
the mountain opened. Jack entered, and it 


132 


Fairy Tales* 

closed on him. The ring, however, emitted a 
steady light, and Jack pursued his way, the 
rocks still opening as he advanced, and in an 
hour’s time he came upon the level country. 
Then he saw, about two miles off, a huge 
castle, five hundred feet high, which he went 
to at once. 

Jack had never dreamed of a house so large, 
and it was of but four stories and the great 
door was over a hundred feet high. While 
he was looking at it, he saw some ladies sit- 
ting at a window. One of them beckoned to 
him, and Jack at once entered the great door, 
where he was met by seven beautiful young 
ladies — those he had seen at the window. 
They were bedecked with jewels. One had 
rubies, and one sapphires, and a third emer- 
alds, and so on, and he saw that the youngest 
and most beautiful of all was almost covered 
with diamonds. 

“ Welcome, fair sir,” said the youngest. 
“ Who be you who are come to the castle of 
Giant Grab ? ” 

Then he told them his name, and asked 
them theirs in return. 


133 


Jack the Terrible* 

“ Sir Jack the Terrible,” said the young 
lady, “ I am the Princess Diamond, the 
daughter of King Jewel, and these ladies are 
the Princesses Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, 
Pearl, Opal, and Topaz, daughters of kings, 
and each has been stolen from her father by 
the Giant and held for ransom. He is away, 
and will not come back until nightfall. We 
will show you the wonders of the castle, and 
then you must away yourself, for he is too 
strong for you to fight.” 

“ I will look at all these wonders,” said 
Jack; “but on condition that you come with 
me afterward, for I am here to deliver you 
and I do not fear the Giant.” 

To this they all agreed, and then they 
showed Jack over the castle. They went to 
the nine great treasure-chambers. One of 
these was filled with vessels of gold, of the 
most exquisite workmanship ; another with like 
vessels carved from malachite and turquoise 
and lapis lazuli ; and each of the others were 
filled with precious stones, one chamber for 
each kind. But what struck Jack most was 
the chamber of pearls ; for every pearl there 
was as large as a hen’s egg. 


134 Fairy Tales* 

“ I will show you,” said the Princess Dia- 
mond, “where he gets these.’* 

So she took him to a chamber in which 
there was a golden cage, and in that a hen, 
with silver feathers. 

“ This hen,” continued the Princess, “ lays 
a pearl every day of the week except Sunday ; 
and on Saturday she lays two.” 

Jack and the Princesses all started off ; and , 
the Princess Diamond took the hen from the 
cage and carried it under her arm. They 
all made their way along the road, and just 
when they reached the base of the mountain 
the seven Princesses gave a scream. Jack 
looked back. The Giant had reached home, 
and, having discovered his loss, was in pursuit 
of them ; but Jack turned his ring, the moun- 
tain opened, and Jack and the Princesses 
made their way safely through and went on. 

The Giant, after thinking awhile on the 
matter, concluded to cross the mountain, 
which he did ; and there he saw Jack and the 
Princesses making their escape. He at once 
gave chase, and, being eighty feet high, was 
soon close upon them, when Jack took out 


13 S 


Jack the Terrible* 

his feather, and, waving it three times, cried 
out: “Grow!” At once a great forest of 
pine-trees, grown closely together, three 
miles deep, sprang up in the Giant’s path, and 
Jack and his convoy went on their way rejoic- 
ing. 

The Giant was very much puzzled at this. 
The trees were so thick and strong he could 
not get through them, and, after running up 
and down for miles and finding no apparent 
end to the forest, drew his sword and began to 
hew a way. But this took him some hours, 
and by the time he had cleared a path it was 
nearly daylight, and Jack and the Princesses 
had arrived at the witch’s house. Jack saw 
the Giant coming, and thought it time to end 
his pursuit. So he drew his sword, struck the 
earth with it three times, and wished the 
ground to sink suddenly for a mile under the 
Giant’s feet. 

There was a crash and a trembling, as of 
an earthquake, and the Giant, with a wild cry, 
sank into the chasm. Then Jack and the 
Princesses went into the witch’s hut, where 
the old woman received them kindly, and the 


136 Fairy Tales. 

cat went out and caught some birds for their 
breakfast. 

When they had refreshed themselves, they 
all went on, and in due time came to the 
house of Jack’s father. There Jack married 
the six elder Princesses to his six brothers, 
whom he sent off to their royal fathers-in-law, 
while he himself was married with the Princess 
Diamond. 

After the wedding was over, Jack and his 
bride went to the Giant’s castle, where they 
took possession of all the treasure. In course 
of time Jack succeeded King Jewel on the 
throne of Lubberland. King J ack and Queen 
Diamond were very much beloved by their 
subjects, and after reigning fifty years they 
died. Their son succeeded Jack as Jack the 
Second, who, being a warlike monarch, was 
known as Jack o’ Clubs, to distinguish him 
from his father, who had been styled Jack o* 
Diamonds. 

As for the hen that laid the pearls, she died 
after a few years, and, as she never hatched 
out a brood, I am sorry to say that the breed 
is extinct. 


vm. 


Prince Labour, 

Once upon a time, in the land of Bizarre, 
there reigned a King called Easy, who had 
two sons named Longsword and Quickspur. 
When they were nearly grown, the King lost 
his Queen, their mother ; but in a year after 
married a Princess named Gracious, and had 
another son, who was called Labour. As 
Labour grew toward manhood he displayed 
tastes and habits quite different from those of 
his two brothers. Prince Longsword and 
Prince Quickspur were known as valiant 
knights, and won great renown in the wars. 
Prince Longsword was slow of speech and 
haughty in manner, and had no regard for the 
feelings of others. Prince Quickspur was 
affable and kind, but was roused to anger at the 
slightest opposition. Both these Princes were 
over the ordinary height, strong and muscular, 


138 


Fairy Talcs* 

and disdained all that did not pertain to arms. 
Prince Labour, though bred a knight, loved 
the arts of peace. He became an adept in all 
kinds of mechanical work, was fond of wood- 
craft and farming, and was able to handle the 
axe and guide the plow dexterously. For all 
this, and for him because of it, his brothers 
felt the uttermost contempt. The people in 
general shared in this feeling, and thought it 
to be good for the realm that he was not the 
elder son, and, therefore, was not likely to 
succeed to the crown. For the country 
required a warlike, or a politic king, since it 
had the kingdom of Bricabrac on one side, 
and that of Rococo on the other ; and between 
these three powers there was always jealousy, 
and often war. King Easy was not a great 
warrior, it is true, but he was crafty, and made 
up by that and by his shrewdness in picking 
out the best general, for what he lacked other- 
wise. 

One day, when Labour was twenty years 
old, the King spoke to his eldest son, and 
said : 

“ You are now of middle age, and the heir 


Prince Labour* 


*39 


to my kingdom, yet you are not married. In 
order that you may form a fitting alliance, 
travel with a single servant as a private gen- 
tleman. Visit various kingdoms, and when 
you have found a princess suitable to wive, 
return and let me know, and I shall send an 
envoy and demand her hand for you from the 
king, her father. Go, and come back in a 
year and a day.” 

Prince Longsword set out upon his journey, 
with a single servant, as he was commanded. 
He travelled all day until he came to the border 
of Rococo, a narrow part of which projected 
in that quarter, and separated Bizarre from 
the land of Air. For it was to Air he was 
first bound, as the king of that country had a 
daughter, the Princess Charming, who was 
said to be graceful, beautiful, and of a sweet 
temper. At nightfall, when he and his ser- 
vant were travel-tired, they came to a hut, at 
the edge of a forest, at whose door there stood 
an old and crooked dwarf. The Prince asked 
him where they could obtain food and shelter 
for the night. 

“ There is no other house but this for 


140 Fairy Talcs* 

twenty miles,” replied the Dwarf. “ If you 
will cut me some billets at the wood-pile, I 
shall cook you some supper, and give you beds. 
If not, you can go about your business.” 

“ Varlet ! ” cried the Prince, “ do you cut 
the wood, as befits you. As for me, if there 
be no other place than your wretched hut, I 
shall stay here, whether you permit me or 
not.” 

And so saying, he dismounted, and his 
servant did the same. 

“ I know you ! ” said the Dwarf. “You are 
not the fit heir to a crown, since you would 
invade the house of a poor man, and take by 
force what should be had of grace. You and 
your servant and your horses shall become 
four great rocks by the roadside, and so re- 
main until I release you.” 

And the Prince and his servant and their 
horses were all changed as the Dwarf said. 

When a year and a day had passed, and 
Prince Longsword had not returned, and no 
tidings were had of him or his servant, Prince 
Quickspur proposed to go in search of his 
brother; and, after some demur, his father 


Prince Labour. 


141 

consented, but bade him return in six months 
and a day. This, Quickspur promised to do, 
and, taking with him a knight and servants 
as his companions, set forth. 

On the evening of the day they arrived at 
the Dwarfs hut, as Prince Longsword had 
before, and as he had, Quickspur inquired the 
way, to which the Dwarf answered as before. 
Now Quickspur was not so arrogant as his 
brother, and, seeing that the Dwarf was old 
and weak, bade his esquire get enough wood 
ready for their supper. Their fare was 
scanty, and their beds of straw, but they man- 
aged to pass the night, and on the next morn- 
ing they partook of a meagre breakfast. 
Then Quickspur, after he mounted, threw 
two silver pieces on the ground, and told his 
host that it was more than he deserved. 

“ You escape me ! ” cried the Dwarf. “ Be- 
ware my sister ! ” 

The travellers found their road full of 
obstacles. At times it was almost filled with 
rocks, and at others it passed over quaking 
bogs, into which they sunk at nearly every 
step ; now it dwindled into a path they 


142 


Fairy Tales* 


could scarcely trace, and then widened out 
until it seemed no road at all. Some were 
for turning back ; but Quickspur made them 
keep on, until at nightfall they reached an- 
other hut, where a little old woman stood at 
the door. Of her the Prince asked where 
lodging might be had. 

“ There is no other house but this for miles, 
sir,” said she, “and this is mine. But you 
may stay on conditions.” 

“ And what may those conditions be, high 
and mighty lady ? ” inquired Quickspur, 
whom fatigue and hunger had made ill- 
natured. 

“ That you will do the work I shall set you 
at in the morning ; and without you promise 
me that, you may not enter my dwelling.” 

“ And what is the work that you pro- 
pose ? ” 

“ That you shall know when the morning 
comes.” 

“ Insolent creature ! ” cried the angry 
Prince. “ I shall remain, since there is no 
better lodging to be had ; but I pay in coin, 
and not in labour,” 


Prince Labour, 143 

So saying, he dismounted, as did his fol- 
lowers. 

“ Insolent creature yourself!” shrieked the 
old woman. “Would you take possession 
because I am weak and you are strong ? You 
and your companions, and the horses they 
have ridden, shall become a grove of blasted 
fir-trees, and so remain till I release them.” 

And they suddenly became as she said. 

When six months and a day had passed, 
and neither Prince Quickspur nor his train 
returned, Labour proposed to go in search of 
his elder brothers, whom, in spite of their 
scorn for him, he loved. But the King at 
first refused consent. “ For,” said he, “ I sent 
my elder son away, and he may be dead. I 
suffered his brother to go in search of him ; 
and his fate, too, is uncertain. If I let you 
depart, and you return not, then I have lost 
all my children.” The Queen also refused 
her consent. But Labour pleaded so earnestly 
that they at length yielded. 

“ Better take a large troop of knights and 
men-at-arms to protect you,” said King Easy. 

“ Sire, my father,” said Labour, “ a small 


144 


Fairy Tales* 

troop would insure disaster. To enter a 
neighbour’s land with an armed force is war ; 
and war without a large army means defeat. 
Better suffer me to go alone, and unattended, 
and on foot ; for craft is better than force, 
and my weakness shall prove my strength.” 

At last the King consented, but bade Labour 
to return in a month and a day. Then the 
young Prince, clad plainly, departed on foot 
upon his travels. He took the same road his 
brothers had taken, and, like them, he came 
at nightfall to the home of the Dwarf, of 
whom he asked the question they had put, 
and received a like answer. 

Labour looked at the Dwarf, and, seeing 
that he was weak and old, took compassion 
on him. 

“ I shall willingly do what you require, my 
friend,” he said. “ As you seem but little 
able to handle an axe, and I am expert at 
wood-chopping, and am young and strong, I 
shall cut you enough now for to-night, and in 
the morning sufficient to last you some time. 
I warrant you that two hours’ toil will do the 
business,” 


Prince Labour. 


145 


At this the Dwarf looked well pleased. 
Labour soon made a pile of billets ; and, after 
he had been fed and lodged, he used the axe 
again the following morning, and fulfilled his 
promise fully. 

As Labour was about to depart, the Dwarf 
thus addressed him : “ My lord Prince,” said 
he, “ I know you well. You have overpaid 
for your food and lodging, and have earned 
wages for yourself. Take this key. It is 
old and rusty, and you can just trace the word 
‘ Ingenuity ’ engraven on its shank. But it 
possesses properties which may serve you in 
your need. It will fit any keyhole, large or 
small, and open any lock. Take it ; and 
good fortune go with you.” 

Labour took the key, which he placed in his 
pocket, thanked his host, and went on his 
way. When he had departed, the Dwarf 
touched the rocks on the roadside, and, when 
they had resumed their forms, he bade 
Longsword and his servant return to the land 
of Bizarre, which they were glad enough to 
do. Meanwhile Labour kept on his way, and 
at nightfall came to the hut of the little old 


146 


Fairy Talcs* 

woman, who gave him shelter on the same 
conditions she had proffered to Quickspur. 

When the morning came and Labour in- 
quired what work he had to do, the old wo- 
man gave him a great pile of silken thread, 
very much knotted and entangled. This he 
was told to untie and disentangle, and wind 
into a ball without breaking the thread itself. 

“ It is a troublesome task, good mother,” 
said Labour, “ and I fear it will cost a day’s 
toil. But a promise is a promise, and I shall 
do my best.” 

Thus saying, he set diligently to work. 

At first, the Prince made slow progress. 
It was so knotted and twisted that he had 
great difficulty in finding the end. When 
once he had obtained this the work grew 
easier, and as he toiled on the difficulty be- 
came less. So that, to his own surprise, it 
was not more than an hour until he had the 
whole in an unbroken thread, wound into a 
ball, which he handed to his hostess in 
triumph. 

“ There,” said he, “ is your ball for you ; 
but as you seem to be old and poor, will you 


Prince Labour* 147 

let me leave you a few silver pieces to help 
you along ? ” 

“ No,” was the reply, “ for I do not need it. 
But do you take this silken ball, whose thread 
is made only in the land of Cathay, in the far 
East, and is known as the silk of Skill. When 
you desire to build a bridge over a river, or a 
chasm, all you have to do is to cast the ball 
from you toward the opposite side, when the 
gap will be spanned by a strong bridge, and 
the ball will return to your hand. Should 
you wish the bridge destroyed, all you have 
to do is to break the end of the thread.” 

Labour took the ball, thanked the giver, and 
resumed his journey. Presently when he had 
passed out of the land of Rococo, over a nar- 
row strip of which he had travelled, and en- 
tered the land of Air, the character of the 
country changed. The road became smooth 
and regular; other roads ran into it from 
various directions ; there were groves of trees, 
green meadows, murmuring streams, and gay 
flowers studded the roadside. But as he was 
striding along he heard the squeaking cry of 
some small animal in distress. Looking 


148 Fairy Tales. 

down he beheld a large rat which had been 
caught in a snare set for rabbits. Labour 
had an aversion to vermin ; but the condition 
of the little animal excited his pity. 

“ Good sir,” said the rat, “ have compassion, 
and free me. I have done no harm and was 
only looking for food, when this cruel snare 
caught me. Let me loose, and I may serve 
you.” 

“ Not because you may serve me,” said the 
Prince, “ but since I do not like to see you a 
prisoner.” And he stooped down, and un- 
did the snare. 

“ I thank you,” said the little animal. 
“ Let me give you a caution in return. Five 
miles from this there is a castle close to the 
highway, and in that castle lives the Baron 
Grim, a robber-chief, who has fifty men-at- 
arms ; and with these he commits all kinds of 
crimes, and has thus far escaped punishment. 
But yesterday, as the Princess Charming, the 
daughter of the King, was riding in the forest, 
his band slew all her attendants and carried 
the lady off as prisoner. So carefully did 
they hide all traces that no one knows where 


Prince Labour. 


149 


she is ; and the Baron has sent an agent to 
treat for her ransom, or rather to claim the 
reward offered for her return. I know it ; 
for I left the robbers’ den this morning.” 

“ Alas ! I am not able to cope with so 
many,” said the Prince. 

“ It is not needed,” responded the rat. 
“ The Baron and all his troop set forth at 
daybreak on an expedition, and there is no 
one left at the castle but the old porter and 
the servants of the kitchen. If you care not 
to visit the castle, you can at east let the 
King know where the Princess is . . 'fined.” 

'‘True,” said the Prim*, “and if the rob- 
bers are away, may do more.” 

So Labour and the rat went on in company. 
When they had gone four miles further, they 
found a horse, who was limping along the 
road. 

“ Ho ! ho ! ” said the rat. “ Are you lame, 
friend?” 

“ I fear I shall be,” replied the horse. “ A 
stone has wedged itself between my shoe and 
my hoof, and every step I take makes me feel 
worse.” 


150 Fairy Tales, 

“ That may easily be remedied,” said the 
Prince. “ Hold up your hoof, and I will see 
if it may be removed with my dagger.” 

So the horse held up his hoof, and Labour 
speedily dislodged the stone. The horse cut 
a caper of joy, and then said to the Prince : 
“ If you be tired, get on my back, and I’ll 
carry you.” 

“ No, thank you,” was the reply, “ I am 
able yet to walk ; but I would be glad of your 
company.” 

So the three travelled together, and the rat 
told the horse about the captive Princess. 

“ I f you go to the castle, I will linger around, 
and may be of use to you, at a pinch,” said 
the horse. 

Presently they came to Grim Castle, which 
stood in the centre of a large courtyard, 
wherein were the stables and offices, and all 
these surrounded by a high and strong wall. 
Around this was a deep and wide moat, filled 
with water, over which was a drawbridge. In 
the wall was a great gate, at which was a por- 
ter s lodge. The drawbridge was down, and 
the portcullis was up. The horse remained 


Prince Labour* 


* 5 * 

outside grazing, the rat slipped in and ran to 
the castle, and Labour entered. Here he was 
met by the porter, who demanded his busi- 
ness. 

“Could I get something to eat at the cas- 
tle ? ” asked the Prince. 

“They never refuse cold meat to strollers,” 
said the porter ; and if you go to the kitchen 
the cook will give you something. But, hark 
you, young man ! Go about your business 
when you have eaten, and while you eat ask 
no questions. The Lord Baron does not like 
listening ears and peeping eyes. He will re- 
turn this evening to a great banquet which he 
gives his men-at-arms, and should he learn 
that you have behaved amiss, it will be the 
worse for you.” 

Labour thanked the porter and made his 
way to the kitchen, where Molda, the cook, 
gave him some cold meat and bread, and a 
measure of wine. Now Molda was a great 
gossip, and plied him with all manner of ques- 
tions about affairs without, and Labour, by 
saying little and listening much, soon drew 
from her all he wanted to know. He learnt 


152 Fairy Tales. 

that the Princess, while she was treated well, 
and served by one of the women of the castle, 
was held alone in the western tower under 
lock and key. Labour lingered on, still talk- 
ing and listening, until it was near night. 
The day was hot, and Moldawas drowsy, and 
at length, after some yawns and nods, fell 
asleep in her chair. Labour thereupon silently 
made his way to the western tower, and, un- 
locking the door, was soon in the presence of 
the Princess Charming. 

No sooner had he seen her than he fell vio- 
lently in love with her. He told her his name 
and station, and that he had come to deliver 
her. He proposed to go on to the Court of 
her father, and return with force enough to 
overcome all resistance. While they were 
talking they heard the sound of a trumpet, 
and knew that the Baron and his followers 
had returned. So Labour locked the door 
again, and made his way to the kitchen, where 
he found the cook awake and preparing to 
dish up the banquet. 

When the Baron and the rest sat down to 
meat, the porter informed his master of the 


Prince Labour, 153 

stroller who had come to the castle, but had 
not gone away. So Labour was sent for, and 
when he was in the presence of the Baron, the 
latter enquired his name and business. 

“ I am Prince Labour,” was the reply ; “ and 
I am travelling in search of my elder brothers, 
who came this way long since, and have not 
returned.” 

“ A very pretty story that,” said the Baron. 
“ Princes do not travel alone, and beg cold 
victuals. You are probably a spy. I shall 
not stop my supper to examine you now, but 
shall keep you safely until morning. Should 
I find your story false, you shall die. As for 
your rank, I would as soon hang a Prince as 
a peasant. Bind him, and keep him safely.” 

So, in spite of his protest, the Prince was 
bound with cords and thrust into a dungeon, 
while the Baron and his men began their 
feast. 

All that night the Prince could hear dull 
sounds above that told him the revellers were 
carousing. Toward morning these died 
away, and then the Prince heard a rustling 
sound beside him, and next the voice of the rat. 


1 54 Fairy Tales* 

“ Keep still,” it said, “ while I release 
you.” 

So the rat gnawed away at the cords and 
presently cut them through. 

“Now,” said the rat, “do you unlock the 
door, take the Princess, and escape.” 

“ But how shall I pass the closed portcullis 
or let down the drawbridge ? ” 

“No need for either,” replied the rat. 
“ There is a wicket door in the wall, opening 
on the moat, and there is a boat moored there 
which will carry us safely over. As the horse 
will be there, I shall guide you to the stables, 
where you may get a saddle and bridle, and a 
pillion for the Princess. And now let us go.” 

Labour unlocked the dungeon door with 
his key, and then, seeking the tower, awakened 
the Princess. The two descended, the rat 
running on before. The Prince did as the 
rat told him, and the three, after emerging 
from the wicket door, crossed in the boat, and 
found the horse waiting. Him the Prince 
saddled and bridled, and with the rat in his 
pocket, and the Princess on the pillion behind, 
started on his escape. 


Prince Labour* 


iS5 

They took the nearest by-road, and, when 
out of hearing of the castle, the horse struck 
up a lively trot. Daylight began to break, 
when they found themselves at the edge of a 
wide and deep rift in the rocks, that seemed 
to extend on either hand for miles. 

“ Alas ! ” said the Princess Charming, “ our 
retreat is cut off.” And as she spoke, they 
could hear a dull sound in the distance, which 
showed that the Baron and his men had awak- 
ened, and were following in sharp pursuit. 

“ The ball ! ” said the rat. 

“ The ball ! ” said the horse. 

“The ball!” cried the Prince, and cast it 
before him toward the chasm. 

The ball kept on, unwinding itself as it 
went, and as it unwound, up rose from the 
rocks on each side a wide stone bridge, which 
joined in the centre. Over this they all rode 
in safety to the opposite side ; and then the 
ball of Skill rewound itself and came back to 
the hand of Labour. Then the Baron and his 
men appeared in sight, pressing along furi- 
ously. Some of the men-at-arms, startled at 
the sight of a bridge where none had been be- 


156 Fairy Tales* 

fore, paused ; but the Baron urged them on- 
ward, and they crowded together and passed 
on. No sooner had they reached the centre, 
than Labour snapped in twain the end of the 
silken thread. In an instant the bridge parted 
with a loud crash, and the Baron and his fol- 
lowers, falling to the rocks below, perished 
miserably. Then, after a little pause, Labour 
threw the ball over, the bridge rose and 
joined again, and they all recrossed. 

In a short while they arrived at Castle 
Grim. Here they beheld a cloud of dust 
upon the road, and from this there came a 
train of knights and men-at-arms. This was 
a party headed by the King of Air, who was 
scouring the country in search of Princess 
Charming. The daughter was soon in her 
father’s arms. The King, when he heard 
what Labour had done, thanked him, and in- 
vited him to his Court. Just then a cloud of 
dust was seen in the opposite directien. This 
came from another strong force, commanded 
by Princes Longsword and Quickspur, and 
headed by King Easy, who was in search of 
his youngest son. The two kings met ami- 


Prince Labour* 


i57 


cably ; and the whole went together toward 
the capital of Air. 

After some days of feasting, King Easy 
proposed his eldest son, Longsword, as a hus- 
band for the Princess Charming. The King 
of Air replied that nothing would give him 
greater pleasure than an alliance with the 
House of Bizarre, but he left it to his 
daughter to choose among the three Princes. 
The Princess, with a blush, declared that her 
preference went with her gratitude, and, if her 
father approved, Prince Labour should be her 
choice. And to this King Easy assented. 

On the evening of that day, Prince Labour 
went to the stall which he had ordered for 
the horse, and whither the rat had gone, 
ostensibly to regale itself upon corn, that he 
might thank his faithful friends. But both 
horse and rat had disappeared, and in their 
stead was a gnome, clad in green and gold, 
and a fairy, in a blue silken robe. 

“ Prince/’ said the fairy, “ I am she who 
presided over the birth of thee and thy broth- 
ers, and to whom the care of the three was 
transmitted. The gnome here is my friend ; 


158 Fairy Talcs. 

and in all dealings with mortals we are firm 
allies. I was the rat, and he the horse. I 
was the little old woman, and he the dwarf. 
We have tested thee and thy brothers, and 
found thee to be the most worthy. Fulfill 
thy destiny ; be, in time, a great king ; but 
never fail to remember to cultivate the arts of 
peace, without forgetting those arts of war 
that may be needed to preserve peace, foster 
industry, and preserve content.” 

With that, the fairy and gnome vanished, 
and Labour saw them no more. 

In due time Prince Labour and Princess 
Charming were married ; and, on the death of 
the King of Air, they succeeded to the throne. 
Labour was a great king. The land was rich ; 
for men from all countries build castles in 
Air, and spend much time there, and it is 
thickly peopled. And Labour never parted 
with the key of Ingenuity and the ball of 
Skill ; and, having these, he was able to defy 
opposition, and to secure prosperity and con- 
tent to his loving people. 


IX. 


Strongarm. 

Once upon a time a blacksmith lived in 
the land of Odd, and he had a son named 
Strongarm. Now, although Strongarm had 
been taught his father’s art, and had become a 
very expert workman, and could fashion all 
things in iron and steel, yet he was not fond 
of his work, and much desired to turn his 
hand to something else. In course of time 
his father and mother both died, to his great 
sorrow. After mourning for them some time, 
he sold his smithy, and all the tools save the 
large sledge-hammer, which was called Smiter, 
and with which he would by no means part ; 
for he said it was a weapon he knew how to 
handle, while he was quite ignorant of the 
use of a sword. 

Close by the smithy there stood a huge 
wood, extending for many miles into an un« 


Fairy Tales, 


160 

known region. In the land of Odd all kinds 
of trees that grew in different lands and dif- 
ferent climates were found to flourish — the 
chestnut growing by the side of the bread- 
fruit, and the walnut along with the palm. 
All kinds of wild beasts were found therein ; 
and it was said to be the dwelling-place of 
fairies, gnomes, ogres and giants, so that no 
man had dared to enter it. But Strongarm, 
being young and strong and reckless of dan- 
ger, determined to explore its recesses in 
search of adventures. So, shouldering his 
great hammer, on a fine Spring morning he 
set forth, to learn what would come of it. 

Strongarm made his way among the trees, 
and through thickets, and over rocks, and 
across streams, until, at length, he heard the 
piteous cry of some one in distress. He 
hurried forward, and saw a great lion which 
had overthrown a dwarf, and seemed about to 
devour him. 

“Ho! Ho!” cried Strongarm, advancing 
close to the lion. “ None of that now ! ” 

The lion, still keeping one paw upon the 
dwarf, growled defiance. 


Strongarm* 161 

“ Oh ! you would, would you ? ” said 
Strongarm ; and, raising his hammer, he beat 
in the lion s skull with a single blow. The 
great brute rolled over dead, while the dwarf, 
after Strongarm had shaken him a little, re- 
covered his senses and arose. 

“ Thank you, Master,” said the dwarf. 
“ You have done me a good turn, and I owe 
you two. Please to hire me for your servant.” 

“ I can serve myself,” said Strongarm. 
“ But what is your name, and what can you 
do?” 

44 I am Fire,” replied the other. 44 When- 
ever I breathe strongly I melt glass and earth 
and rocks, and when I blow I cause flames to 
break out, even at the distance of many 
miles.” 

41 Ah, ha!” cried Strongarm. “You may 
be useful. I hire you as a servant, at a penny 
a year.” 

44 1 am content,” said the dwarf, and fol- 
lowed his new master. 

Strongarm went on a mile further, when he 
heard a faint cry of distress, which suddenly 
ceased. He pressed on until he came where 


i6a 


Fairy Talcs* 

a tiger, having seized an old woman, was 
about to worry and eat her. 

44 Ho ! Ho !” cried Strongarm, going up to 
the tiger. 44 None of that now ! ” 

The tiger snarled, and spat like a great cat, 
but kept one paw upon the old woman. 

41 Oh ! you would, would you ? ” exclaimed 
Strongarm, and dealt the tiger such a blow on 
the head with his hammer that the animal fell 
over dead, and the old woman, awakened 
from her swoon by his fall, arose, and shook 
herself to see if she were alive. 

41 Thank you, kind sir,” she said. 44 I must 
pay you for that. Let me be your servant.” 

44 But who are you, and what could you do 
for me?” inquired Strongarm. 

44 1 am Water,” she replied. 44 When I 
breathe hard I raise a mist, and when I blow 
there comes a flood.” 

44 Ah, ha!” exclaimed Strongarm. 44 You 
may be of use, also. I hire you for my ser- 
vant, at a penny a year.” 

44 1 am content,” cried the old woman ; and, 
joining the dwarf, the pair followed their 
master. 


Strong-arm. 163 

Strongarm went a mile further, and heard 
a weak cry of distress. He rushed on, and 
found a great, fat, brown bear, with a boy he 
was about to eat up. 

“ Ho ! Ho ! ” cried Strongarm. 11 None of 
that now." 

But the bear, without taking his paw from 
the boy, looked up and growled. 

“ Oh ! you would, would you ? ” and he 
knocked the bear on the head without delay. 
When the beast fell back, the boy arose and 
clung to his deliverer. 

44 Let me go with you, as your servant,” he 
said. 

44 1 have two already,” replied Strongarm, 
44 and two are company, and three are not. 
Besides, who are you, and what could you do, 
anyhow ? ” 

44 My name is Air,” said the boy. 44 When 
I breathe hard I raise a breeze, and when I 
blow there comes a tornado.” 

4< Ah, ha!” cried Strongarm. 44 That is the 
best of all. I hire you as my servant, at a 
penny a year.” 

44 1 am content,” said the boy, and he joined 
the dwarf and the old woman. 


164 


Fairy Tales* 

“Now/' said Strongarm, “what with walk- 
ing through the woods, and wielding Smiter 
here (and there are ten pounds of him) I am 
hungry. If we could only cook some of this 
fat bear ! ” 

“ That is easy,” said the dwarf, who gath- 
ered leaves and twigs and fallen timber into a 
pile, and blew on it gently, when it burst into 
a flame. 

“ Good ! ” cried Strongarm. “ But we want 
bread.” 

“ That is easy, and a dessert after dinner, 
too,” said the boy. “ Here is a bread-fruit 
tree at the right, and a date-palm at the left.” 
So he blew gently upward, and a shower of 
bread-fruit and dates came down. 

“Better!” cried Strongarm. “But where 
is the drink ? ” 

“ That is easy,” said the old woman ; and 
she blew gently at the foot of a rock hard by, 
and a crystal spring burst forth, and carved 
itself a sandy basin, and overflowed, and ran 
along in a little stream, into a deep ravine, 
leaping from rock to rock, and seeking for a 
mate. 


Strongarm, 165 

So they sat down, and ate and drank and 
made merry. 

“Now," said Strongarm, ‘'that we are 
rested and refreshed, it is a pity there is not 
an adventure before us ; for Smiter is quite 
ready for work, and so am I.” 

“ Easy enough,” said Fire, the dwarf. 
“ Five miles from this is a great river, and in 
that river is a large island, and on that island, 
stands the capital city of the Kingdom of 
Curlecue. It was once a great and thriving 
place, where every one was busy and happy ; 
but now it is all quiet, and the inhabitants, 
from the king down to the little boy who 
peddles penny pies in the street, are in a state 
of drowsihood. So still are they that the 
spiders have covered them with cobwebs, and 
the dust has settled over them inches deep.” 

“And how did all that happen ? ” demanded 
Strongarm. 

“ The wicked enchanter, Sloth, who is an 
ogre and a wizard, and has a castle on the 
river, ten miles above the town, aspired to 
the hand of the Princess Sweetlips, the King’s 
only daughter, and was refused. So when the 


i66 


Fairy Tales, 

Princess was betrothed to the young Prince 
of Lubbcrland, on the very day they were to 
be married the ogre threw the spell of drow- 
siness over them and built a great wall of 
glass around the place, so strong it can not 
be broken, and caused a wood to grow around 
that so thick that the birds can not fly through 
it ; and there it is to be until the spell be 
broken.” 

“You, Air, can uproot the forestand shiver 
it all to fragments,” said Strongarm. “ And 
you, Fire, can melt the wall. But what then ?” 

“ Then the spell will be broken, should any 
one who is the only son of the seventh son of 
a seventh son, go boldly forward to where the 
King sits upon his golden throne, and tweak 
the royal nose.” 

“Ah, ha!” cried Strongarm. “I am an 
only son, and my father was the seventh son 
of the seventh son, and I will undertake the 
adventure.” 

So they set forth, Strongarm at the head, 
and the boy and the dwarf behind him, and 
the old woman bringing up the rear, and soon 
reached the river. There was no boat ; but 


Strongarm. 167 

they made them a raft of fallen limbs, in which 
they all embarked, and Air breathing, a breeze 
arose and wafted them over to the island. 
Here Air began to blow against the wood, and 
a tornado arose which soon tore the trees 
from the earth and reduced them to fine splin- 
ters. Then Fire began to breathe, and at 
once the glassen walls softened and melted 
and ran down into the ditch outside ; and 
when this had all cooled Strongarm and his 
companions marched into the city. 

Such a time as they had to make their way ! 
There were cobwebs across the streets, and at 
the doors and windows, and in all the rooms, 
and from one drowsy inhabitant to the other ; 
and every step made by the visitors raised a 
cloud of dust. Cobwebs and dust everywhere 
around, before, and behind them ; and clouds 
of dust filling their eyes, ears, mouths and 
nostrils. But they persevered, and entered 
the King’s palace, and made their way to the 
presence chamber, where everything was in 
readiness for a grand wedding, and where the 
Prince of Lubberland stood, holding the hand 
of the Princess Sweetlips. There, too, sat the 


1 68 


Fairy Tales* 


King on his throne, but concealed partly by a 
great cobweb extending from the tip of his 
nose to the arms of the throne ; and this 
Strongarm tore away. There sat his Majesty, 
half asleep, with his head thrown back, and 
his nose protruding. It was such a beautiful 
nose to pull, so long, so thin, and with such a 
lovely rosy hue, that Strongarm made no ado 
about it, but reaching out his right hand, gave 
it a vigourous tweak. 

In an instant every one awakened, and the 
guards, seeing a stranger so close to the King’s 
royal person, presented their spears, and the 
Prince and nobles drew their swords. But 
Strongarm beat their weapons down by a 
sweep of his hammer, and they fell back in 
dismay. 

“ What does all this mean ?” cried his Maj- 
esty, while the courtiers began to shake the 
dust from their clothes. 

“ Simply this,” answered Strongarm, as soon 
as he could stop sneezingwith the dust, “ that 
I have broken the enchantment and released 
you from the spell of the ogre.” 

“Ah ! the ogre ! ” cried the King, in terror. 



“ THERE SAT THE KING ON HIS THRONE, BUT CONCEALED PARTLY 

BY A GREAT COBWEB.” 
















• • 








Strongarm* 169 

He has threatened, if the spell were broken, 
to bring here a great army and put us all to 
the sword. I hear his trumpets now !” 

“ That is my business ! ” cried Strongarm, 
and rushed out-of-doors, followed by his com- 
panions, and by the King and Court. 

And, surely enough, there was the ogre dis- 
embarking from a hundred great barges, at 
the head of an army a thousand strong, which 
formed upon the shore. 

“ I shall go to meet them with Smiter,” said 
Strongarm. 

“ That is my business ! ” cried the boy, Air. 
And he began to blow. A tornado struck the 
advancing army, killing and destroying the sol- 
diers, and none escaped save the ogre, who got 
into one of the barges and shoved it from shore. 

“ That is my business ! ” cried the old wo- 
man, Water. And she began to blow. The 
white foam rose on the river, the water-courses 
at the side rose and filled it, and it became a 
great flood, which swept the barge off, and 
overturned it, and drowned the ogre, and that 
was an end of him. 

“ His castle should be destroyed,” said the 
King. 


i jo Fairy Tales* 

“ That is my business ! ” said the dwarf, 
Fire. And he began to blow. Then they 
could see the towers of the ogre’s castle, which 
stood upon a high hill, ten miles off, break 
into flames ; and, in a little while, the roof fell 
in, and the building became a mass of black- 
ened stones and gleaming ashes. 

The King politely expressed his thanks 
to Strongarm, and asked what he could do 
in return for the service given. And when 
he learnt Strongarm’s trade he created him 
Count Hammerbearer, and assigned him 
apartments in the palace, and made him the 
court blacksmith. As all he had to do in the 
office consisted in taking the salary while 
some one else did the work, Strongarm dis- 
charged the duties very well ; and was very 
happy ever after. He married one of the 
maids of honour, and his great grandson is the 
court blacksmith to-day, and has the privilege 
of bearing Smiter, which is carefully preserved 
in the family, before the King on all state 
occasions. What became of Air, Fire, and 
Water is not recorded ; but they, doubtless, 
were well cared for. 


X. 


The Boy who Lost his Head, 

Once upon a time there was a little boy 
named Peter. He was as bad as a healthy 
little boy usually is, and besides being full of 
mischief, was very careless. Thus it was that 
one day, having gone into the woods to play, 
and having bumped himself two or three times 
against low-hanging boughs and drooping 
branches, he unscrewed his head, placed it on 
a stump, and continued his play without it. 
This he could well afford to do, since the play 
he was engaged in, the stopping up of a ditch 
by filling it with sods and stones, required no 
thought, and his head was of no especial use 
to him just then. Presently he finished his 
toil, having done enough to stop the drainage, 
and throw the water back upon the standing 
grain in the field, and ruin the crop ; and, the 
sun having gone down, he concluded that he 


Fairy Talcs. 


172 

would go home. So he went to get his head, 
but found it was gone. He looked every- 
where, and searched until it was quite dark, 
and at last was forced to go home without 
it. 

At supper, his father inquired what he 
meant by coming to the table without his 
head, and he was forced to acknowledge that 
he had lost it. Such a time as there was, to 
be sure. Peter was forced to go to bed with- 
out his supper, for his teeth were in his head, 
and his head was not on his shoulders, and 
without teeth the food could not be chewed, 
and without being properly chewed food leads 
to dyspepsia, and dyspepsia brings the family 
doctor to smell the top of his cane, and order 
nasty medicine, and the patient gets no better, 
and keeps on getting so, and the boy’s mother 
frets herself, and the boy’s father loses patience, 
and goes out, slamming the door after him, 
and many evils follow. 

The next morning the whole family turned 
out to seek for the head, but without avail. 
Then they inserted an advertisement in the 
Num Skull Gazette in these words : 


The Boy who Lost his Head* 173 

Lost, Strayed, or Stolen — a little boy’s head. Has 
dark eyes, brown hair and regular features, and answers 
to the name of Peter. Whoever shall bring it back to 
Peter, senior, No. 2,976 Absurd Avenue, at the northwest 
by north corner of Impossible Street, shall receive Ten 
Cents reward, and the thanks of the loser, and his 
afflicted family. 

3 t* 

The prospect of getting so much money 
caused great crowds of people to seek dili- 
gently. The farmer left his plough, the 
blacksmith his forge, the capenter his work- 
bench, the pea-nut woman her stand, and the 
milkman his cans at the pump, and joined in 
the search, each one as he sought thinking 
what would he do with the money when he 
got it. But it was all in vain. No one could 
find the head, nor any trace of it. It really 
seemed as if Peter must do without a head. 
To be sure they could have bought one at the 
artificial head-makers in Ridiculous Lane ; 
but the artificial head, having no brains in it, 
was a thing of show merely, and of little use 
to the wearer. 

By good luck, another head was found. 
Peter’s uncle, having done something wrong, 


*74 


Fairy Tales* 

had been elected a member of Congress by 
way of punishment, and had gone to take his 
seat. As an ordinary head was of no use 
there, and as the new member wanted to be 
quite equal to his fellows, he had bought a 
wooden head for official use, and a brand-new 
India-rubber conscience, and left his own head 
and his old conscience at home. Nothing 
better could be done than to screw Uncle 
John’s head to Peter’s neck ; and thus Peter 
made shift, while a new and vigourous search 
was made for his own. 

Peter at first was proud at having an old 
head on his shoulders, especially as the head 
had a fine, glossy moustache, and a huge pair 
of mutton-chop whiskers. But it gave him 
the appearance of being a dwarf of middle-age, 
and, go where he would, people stared at him. 
Then he found that his tongue was expected 
to utter such words as befitted his apparent 
age, and that his conduct was obliged to be 
equal to it. He dared not play marbles, or 
hop-scotch, or any of the games indulged in 
by boys. He was continually asked questions 
about things he did not understand, and was 


x 75 


The Boy who Lost his Head# 

expected to act and talk like a man, which, 
being a boy of ten, he found to be impossible. 
He could not stand it, and not being able to 
stand, he moved, and so ran away, at the first 
chance. 

After Peter had gone, they caught a band 
of rogues who had a den in the forest, where 
they stored stolen goods, and among the 
rest of the plunder found there was Peter’s 
missing head. This was restored to Peter’s 
parents, who put it upon a shelf to await their 
son’s return. 

In time Congress adjourned, and Peter’s 
uncle came home. He asked for his head, 
which he now had use for. They were forced 
to let him know what had become of it, and he 
grumbled a deal. But the best he could do 
was to take Peter’s head, and screw it on his 
own neck, and make shift with that till his 
own should be brought back to him. He de- 
termined to go in search of his runaway nephew 
and make an exchange as soon as possible. 
So he put a paper collar and a bunch of tooth- 
picks in his pocket and set off to look for 
Peter and his own head, 


176 Fairy Talcs, 

In the meanwhile Peter had travelled 
through the forest until he came to the high 
road which led to Nowhere from the great 
city of Impossible, where the cleanly inhabi- 
tants washed their houses once a week, and 
then turned them upside down for a day in 
order that they might drain and dry. This 
high road he followed until he came to a vil- 
lage, and there he found a number of boys at 
play. And when they saw Peter they called 
out — “ Oh, what a queer dwarf ! ” And they 
threw sticks and stones at him, and as he ran 
they followed him, all pelting him as they 
went. At length he outran them all and es- 
caped. But he was so scared that he ran on, 
and ran and ran, until he fell, bruised and 
bleeding, at the gate of a garden. There the 
gardener’s daughter came out, and took pity on 
him, and washed his face with soap and sand 
and a scrubbing-brush, and poured molasses 
on his wounds, having no oil, and wrapped 
his head in a door-mat, and was very kind 
indeed. And then he thanked her, and made 
a polite bow, and she made a curtsey, and so 
they parted. 


The Boy who Lost his Head. 177 

Then Peter pursued his journey. And he 
went, and he went, and he went, until he came 
to a by-road that was narrow and shaded and 
cool, and he preferred to take that. He went 
along that road for miles without seeing a 
house, and grew very hungry. At last he 
came to a great wall more than a hundred feet 
high. There was a door, about thirty feet 
high and twelve feet wide, but it was shut. 
As Peter stood there, wishing for a nice 
piece of bread and butter with peach jam a 
half inch deep, he felt himself lifted in the air 
by an enormous hand, and held in front of a 
face two feet and a-half long, with a pair of 
eyes four inches in diameter. Then the huge 
lips before him opened, and a voice that 
sounded like a sharp peal of thunder said — 
“ Oh, papa ! see what a pretty doll I have ; 
and it’s alive too. It winks its little eyes.” 

Then a voice deeper and stronger yet 
roared out — 

“ It is one of the dwarf people, the Minni- 
kin-mannikins. Fie has strayed out of his 
own country. They make nice eating, these 
little fellows, baked in a pie. If you run a 


> 7 « 


Fairy Talcs* 

spit through him, and broil him over the fire, 
you’ll find him a delicate tidbit.” 

“ I’d like to keep this one alive, papa,” said 
the other voice. 

“Very good, my child ; just as you please 
— he is only a few mouthfuls anyhow ; but he 
seems very plump and tender.” 

Peter was scared at this. He didn’t want 
to be baked in a pie, and he felt sure it would 
hurt him to run a spit through him. But 
Monstrolinda, the giant’s daughter, settled the 
matter by putting him in an iron cage that 
hung twenty feet from the floor, and feeding 
him with pound-cake and raspberry jam until 
he felt sick. And then he remembered how 
he had caught a chipping-bird once, and put 
it in a cage, and made it eat until it died, and 
wondered if he were to be crammed to death 
too. 

Monstrolinda was very kind and attentive 
to her captive, and never forgot to feed him 
more than two or three days in the week, so 
that he was pretty well off ; but he did not 
like the cage a bit, and would have liked to 
get out. But this was not so easy. Even if 


179 


The Boy who Lost his Head* 

he could unfasten the door of the cage, the 
jump of twenty feet would break his bones. 

Neglect after some days favoured him. 
Monstrolinda set the cage down on the floor 
to feed Peter, and had opened its door, when 
a noise in the courtyard attracted her atten- 
tion. She ran to the window. It was a 
quarrel between two servants. What they 
said and did was so funny that the girl stood 
and laughed at them for a half-hour, and when 
it was all over she turned to the cage, and 
found that Peter had gone. 

Peter had slipped out when she went to the 
window, and made his way slowly down the 
big steps of the stairway, each of them over 
three feet high, and got out of doors, and hid 
himself in some tall grass at the foot of a tree. 
He soon heard them searching for him, but 
they finally gave him up, and he heard Mon- 
strolinda crying, and the old giant saying that 
he had probably been carried off by the cat. 
When night came Peter made his way off, 
and went back by the road he came, and 
found a hidden spot where he went to sleep. 

Next morning he travelled on until he met 


180 Fairy Tales* 

a party of armed men with dogs. These 
proved to be King Nobody of Nowhere, with 
his men, out in the woods hunting the kobjug- 
ler. The kobjugler was a very ferocious 
brute, which did great damage in the country 
by devouring the persimmons. The King 
was very much pleased with Peter and offered 
* him the position of court-dwarf, at a salary of 
nothing a day, and he to find himself. But 
Peter did not care to find himself, but to find 
his head, and told the King so. Then Peter 
started on his homeward journey, and the 
King and his Court went to hunting the kob- 
jugler, whose track of d-e, de, v-a-s, vas, devas, 
t-a, ta, devasta, t-t-o-n , shun, devastation, was 
marked by the seeds of many persimmons. 

The uncle of Peter had had a time nearly 
as odd as that of his nephew. He had set 
out in the opposite direction. He had hoped 
to find Peter in Somewhere, and he set out 
for the city of Quolimbo, which, as every one 
knows, is the capital of that country. On his 
way he made very close inquiry of all he met, 
if they had seen or heard of a boy, with a 
man’s head on his shoulders, but could gain 


The Boy who Lost his Head* 181 

no news of Peter, which as the boy had gone 
the other way, was not to be wondered at. 
But Peter’s uncle kept on until he came to the 
city itself, which was beautifully built in the 
clouds, and which had a town hall, made of 
sugar candy, and a great museum, filled with 
bunches of birches, rattans, taws, leather 
straps, mother’s slippers, and other instruments 
of torture used for little boys in the dark ages, 
and a hospital for decayed toymakers, and 
dungeons for cruel schoolmasters, and a foun- 
tain of lemonade in the principal streets, and 
a great many other curious things. And 
Peter’s uncle went to the museum and the 
hospital, and the town hall and the fountain, 
and to all other places to look for Peter. As 
he did not find him or hear of him, he concluded 
that he would go back; and he did so, with- 
out any other thing worth speaking of. And 
it so befell that both got back at the same 
hour and the same minute of the same day, 
and met each other. Thereupon they ex- 
changed heads, and each got his own again, 
and they came into the house just as dinner 
was ready, and sat down and ate with the rest. 


i8a 


Fairy Tales. 


As for Peter, he grew up to be a man, and 
when his uncle died he became his heir. As 
his uncle had spent all his money while he 
was alive, Peter did not profit much ; but his 
uncle had made his will, and where there is a 
will there is a way, and the way that Peter took 
was to work for his own money, which is the 
best way after all. And when he became of 
proper age, he was married to the gardener’s 
daughter. And at the wedding a most remark- 
able fact was made known. The gardener’s 
daughter, that every one thought was a gar- 
dener’s daughter, did not turn out to be a 
princess in disguise, but was a real gardener’s 
daughter after all, and her name was Molly 
Milligan. And the couple lived to be old, 
and were happy all the days of their lives, and 
Peter used to tell his children all about when 
he lost his head, and lived in a cage at the 
giant’s house, and met the King of Nowhere, 
when he was out trying to hunt the ferocious 
kobjugler in his native jungle. 


XI. 


Timbertop and Betsian. 

Once upon a time in the land of Kommon- 
toise, which is bounded on the north by the 
Ahpelpye Mountains and on the south by the 
great Sea of Le Monaide, and which is be- 
tween the Kingdom of Jaknyphe, on the one 
side, and the Empire of Smash on the other, 
there lived a wooden man, named Whittle. 
He was a maker of road-cloth, and in the 
course of his business employed a number of 
people, including several young girls, who 
diligently spun the street-yarn of which road- 
cloth is made. Whittle had grown rich at 
his trade. He had a perpetual order from 
the government for an indefinite quantity of 
the best quality of his wares for making the 
great highways of a kingdom ; while all the 
inferior stuff was sold at ever so much per 
yard to the authorities in the small towns and 


184 


Fairy Talcs. 

villages, to be rolled out into lanes and by- 
ways. So rich did he become that he bought 
a large castle, which stood in the centre of a 
wide park and was surrounded by a forest of 
animal trees. Those trees which would have 
been curious here caused no wonder there, 
for in Kommontoise all animals, except man, 
who is whittled out of wood, grow upon trees, 
each in a pod. When the beans are ripe the 
pods burst open, the animals fall to the 
ground, and at once begin to feed. Whittle’s 
park contained none but the thriftiest trees, 
which yielded him yearly a fine crop of 
horses, cows, and sheep. The park was kept 
in fine order, though a few rat-bushes and 
mouse-vines grew in the fence-corners ; but 
were prevented from increasing by the cat 
briers that sprang up around them. The 
place was the pride of Kommontoise, and its 
fame extended to the Kingdom of Jaknyphe, 
and even to the Empire of Smash, where the 
boozies grow on the bumly-bushes, the rivers 
run up-hill, and the poljorums bloom twice a 
year. 

Now, Whittle had no children, to inherit 


Timbertop and Betsian* 185 

his riches ; therefore he adopted a nephew, 
called Timbertop, whom he declared to be 
his heir. Being desirous that the young man 
should be settled, and at the same time 
anxious to add to his nephew’s future fortune, 
he picked out a wife for Timbertop in the 
person of Betsian, the only child of X. K. 
Vaytor, who was the next richest man in the 
kingdom to Whittle himself. Besides being 
a great heiress, Betsian was a beauty, being 
made of the finest curled maple-wood and 
highly varnished, and having her hair painted 
a pleasing sky-blue. Being an heiress, it was 
thought she was as good as she was beautiful. 
But Timbertop took a great dislike to her. 
He had never seen her, and, so far as she was 
concerned, cared nothing ; but his pride was 
hurt at the connection, for he had been told 
by those who knew that her father had laid 
the foundation of his fortune by peddling 
keyholes. Now, it was true that the elder 
Vaytor had made a start in that way ; but so 
soon as he had gained enough capital had 
gone into more important business, and he 
had at last secured the monopoly of the man- 


186 Fairy Talcs* 

ufacture of post-holes, which necessary aper- 
tures he made by millions, and sent, packed 
in sawdust, to the farmers all through the 
country. And this V aytor was of good family, 
being the grandson of L. E. Vaytor, who was 
first cousin to Lord Hoist; while everybody 
knew that Timbertop’s mother was a Wood- 
saw, and the Woodsaws were very ordinary 
folk. When Whittle learnt of his nephew’s 
obstinacy, they had high words together. 
The uncle called his nephew a blockhead, and 
th'e latter jammed his moonshine cap on his 
head, drew on his bobbinet boots, and, wrap- 
ping his blotting paper great-coat around 
him, strode off in a pet to the Empire of 
Smash, where the boozies grow on the bumly- 
bushes, the rivers run up-hill, and the pol- 
jorums bloom twice a year. 

It happened that Betsian had as deep-rooted 
an aversion to Timbertop as Timbertop had 
to her. She had never seen him ; but had 
heard that, at best, he was a common fellow, 
made of pine and fastened together with pegs, 
and without any paint or varnish upon him. 
This was very unjust on her part ; for Timber- 


Timbertop and Betsian* 187 

top was really made of the finest rosewood, 
French-polished to the highest degree, and 
put together in the most workmanlike manner. 
Then she knew all about the Woodsaw con- 
nection, and she not only looked down upon 
the Woodsaws, all and singular; but had often 
sneered at them, and supposed he knew of it, 
and that he saw she saw Woodsaw in him. 
But her father was firm on the matter and 
declared she should be wedded to Timbertop, 
on the following Monday morning, at ten 
o’clock precisely. To show he was in earnest, 
he ordered the wedding-cake to be made of 
hickory sawdust and baked in a cold oven ; 
and set the mantua-makers to work upon a 
wonderful wedding-dress of shingle-shavings 
trimmed with poljorum blossoms. Thereupon 
Betsian knew that this meant business. So 
she locked herself up in the garret and cried. 
But, finding that tears would not mend the 
matter, she picked up her parasol, let herself 
out of the window in a basket, and ran away to- 
ward the Empire of Smash, where the boozies 
grow on the bumly-bushes, the rivers run up- 
hill, and the poljorums bloom twice a year. 


i88 


Fairy Tales. 

Timbertop went on his way in a raging 
passion ; but by the time he got over the 
boundary line of Kommontoise and Smash, 
felt his wrath grow less and his hunger grow 
bigger. He made up his mind to take things 
easy, and, as a step toward this, to look out for 
supper and a night’s lodging. Presently he 
saw in the air, about forty feet above him, a 
number of men engaged in building a house. 
Now, in Smash they always begin to build 
their houses at the chimmey-top, from whence 
they gradually work downward until they 
reach the ground, when they finish by laying 
the cellar wall. The workmen had only got 
as far as the garret, and were too high in the 
air to talk with him. He had no time to wait 
until they had built down to him, so he sought 
the information he wanted elsewhere. Pur- 
suing his journey, he came across a man upon 
a pair of high stilts. He knew that this was 
a poet, since all poets get on stilts in Smash, 
as they are sometimes said to do in other 
countries. He civily asked the way to an inn. 
The poet told him to walk one mile, two fur- 
longs, and a perch further ; then to turn to 


Timbertop and Betsian* 189 

the right and walk three furlongs and a rod ; 
then to turn to the left and walk a mile and 
six yards, when he would come to two roads, 
and one of these, either that to the right or 
left, he wasn’t sure which, would lead him to 
some men who were gathering boozies from 
the bumly-bushes, and they would point out 
the road that would lead him to the town of 
Takemin, where there were inns lying about 
loose everywhere, and he could put any of 
them he chose in his pocket. Timbertop asked 
him to give him plainer directions ; but the 
poet said it was not proper so to do in the 
Empire of Smash, where the boozies grow on 
the bumly-bushes, the rivers run up-hill, and 
the poljorums bloom twice a year. 

Betsian, who had taken a by-way, finally 
reached the high road. She was very tired 
when she got there, and would have gone 
back, but she was ashamed to do so ; and 
then she had lost her way, and was not sure 
whether she were going somewhere or coming 
back from that place. When she came to 
where they were building down the house, 
she did not stop to ask anything ; but went 


190 


Fairy Tales. 

on as quickly as she could, lest the chimney- 
top and the garret and the men at work 
should fall down on her and damage her par- 
asol. But when she came to where the poet 
was walking about, and grinding his verses 
out of an old coffee-mill which he carried, she 
asked him if he knew of a young ladies* semi- 
nary that wanted a lady professor who could 
teach the pupils the art of doing nothing dili- 
gently, together with shell-work and the use 
of the globes for keeping gold-fish. And he 
answered, “Not any for me, thank you!’* 
and went on turning the crank of the coffee- 
mill. And when she repeated the question, 
he answered, in a gloomy tone of voice : “ Fol- 
low your nose.” And when she asked of him 
if it made any difference which way her nose 
pointed, he gave no reply ; for she had already 
asked two questions, and to answer a third 
was against the rules of fashionable society in 
the Empire of Smash, where the boozies grow 
on the bumly-bushes, the rivers run up-hill, 
and the poljorums bloom twice a year. 

Then Betsian pouted and went on. And 
when she had gone about a mile she found a 


Timbertop and Betsian* 191 

young gentleman in a brown study and in a 
ditch. She awakened him out of the one by 
asking him the same question she had first 
put to the poet ; but she could not get him 
out of the other, because he had broken his 
leg. So soon as she discovered his misfor- 
tune and had observed he was a dark-com- 
plexioned rosewood young gentleman, French- 
polished to the highest degree and put 
together in the most workmanlike manner, 
she ran away to the house of Dr. Chopper, 
the great surgeon, and implored his help. 
The benevolent Doctor came at once and ex- 
amined the case. After smelling the top of 
his cane and elevating his eyebrows, he said 
it was a compound and common something- 
or-other fracture of the Os What-d’ye-call-it, 
and that there was no remedy left but a-m, am , 
p-u, pity t-a, ta t t-i-o-n, shun. Then and there 
Dr. Chopper he trimmed off the broken mem- 
ber with a Barlow knife and smoothed the 
stump with a rasp, and, sending to the limb- 
shop, had a new leg bought and brought and 
fastened on. And then he wrote a pre- 
scription in these words: “ Recipe Gelatinis 


192 


Fairy Tales* 

equo quantum parvu7n y et A quce pumpibi quan- 
tum sufficit . Misce . Fiat solutio cum calore . 
Signa. Apply to the wounded part when it 
won’t stick, frequently and oftener. Chop- 
per, M. D.” And when Betsian asked him if 
that were Latin, he answered, “ Doctor’s Latin, 
my dear ” ; and when she asked him what it 
meant he answered “ Glue ” ; and when she in- 
quired why he could not have said so in plain 
language, he said no more, for to answer three 
questions in one day is not the custom of the 
faculty in the Empire of Smash, where the 
boozies grow on the bumly-bushes, the rivers 
run up-hill, and the poljorums bloom twice a 
year. 

Nevertheless, the pegs held and the glue 
stuck, and the two new friends started to- 
gether on their journey to no place in partic- 
ular which they were very anxious to see. 
And while travelling Betsian asked the name 
of the young gentleman whom she had drawn 
out of the ditch, and Timbertop asked the 
name of the young lady who had done him 
such service ; and when each found out who 
the other was they both fell in love in the 


Timbertop and Betsian* 193 

most astonishing manner. And Timbertop 
proposed that they should go back and get 
married. And she said : “ Let’s.” But just 
then they heard a great weeping and wailing 
and sobbing. And Timbertop was so aston- 
ished that he said: “Goodness !” And Bet- 
sian was so confounded that she said : “ My ! ” 
For they saw coming toward them a long 
procession of women and children. And 
when they inquired of one of these the cause 
of their trouble, they were told that just be- 
fore them was a big rock, and on top of that 
rock was a big castle, and in that castle was 
a big Ogre ; and the Ogre had carried off all 
the men in the neighbourhood and was going 
to cook and eat them. “ And,” continued the 
woman, “what ever shall we do?” Then 
Timbertop, like a gallant young rosewood 
gentleman, French-polished to the highest 
degree and put together in the most work- 
manlike manner, proposed to go and forth- 
with kill the Ogre, and release his prisoners ; 
which all the women and children very much 
approved. And he asked Betsian to be pres- 
ent and see how the thing was done. So the 


194 


Fairy Tales* 

two ascended the big rock, and knocked at 
the big door of the big castle ; and when a 
big porter came to the door, Timbertop po- 
litely requested him to give his compliments 
to the big Ogre, and ask him to come out at 
his earliest leisure and be killed. And the 
big porter said he would tell his master with- 
out fail ; but, for his part, he did not know 
how it would be, since big Ogres did not al- 
ways like to be killed in the Empire of Smash, 
where the boozies grow on the bumly-bushes, 
the rivers run up-hill, and the poljorums 
bloom twice a year. 

When the big Ogre was told of the desire 
of Timbertop, he said he would be only to 
happy to oblige ; but that Mrs. Ogre and the 
little big Ogres were waiting for their supper, 
and he must come out and gather chips to cook 
the men in the pot. So he came out of the 
big gate of the castle, a great giant, with boots 
that reached up to his neck and a hat that 
reached down to the ground, and saw Timber- 
top, who was strutting up and down, and Bet- 
sian, who looked at him admiringly. Now 
the big Ogre was very short sighted, and 


*95 


Timber top and Betsian. 

in his hurry had forgotten his barnacles ; so 
when he saw the rosewood young gentleman 
and maple young lady he thought them two 
chips that were tossed hither and thither by 
the wind, and, gathering them up, cast them 
under the great cauldron among the other 
wood and applied a light. Before they could 
say “Jack Robinson” — which they did not 
say, because they had never heard of Jack — 
the blaze was around them. But they made 
up their mind not to get burned into ashes, 
and so leapt out, and ran out of the big cas- 
tle, and down the big rock, and along the road 
home, where their friends were very glad to 
see them, indeed. And so Timbertop and 
Betsian got married, and lived to be old, and 
inherited all the money of Whittle and Vaytor, 
and the monopoly of the manufacture of road- 
cloth and post-holes, and used often to enter- 
tain their children by telling them of their 
adventures in the Empire of Smash, where 
the boozies grow on the bumly-bushes, the 
rivers run up-hill, and the poljorums bloom 
twice a year. 


XII. 


Dunnohoo. 

Once upon a time there was a poor boy 
who lived in a little hut, in an obscure lane, 
in the great city of Dunnoware, in the popu- 
lous country of Cloudland. His mother had 
died when he was very young, and his father, 
who came to Cloudland from a far distant 
place, brought up his son until he was twelve 
years old, when he too died, and left Dunno- 
hoo (for such was the boy’s name) to shift 
for himself. As the people in Dunnoware 
never concern themselves about what does 
not concern them, no one offered to take care 
of the young orphan, and so he managed to 
take care of himself. His father had left 
behind a few silver pieces, some books, and 
property of apparently no worth ; but Dunno- 
hoo contrived by his own efforts to make an 
honest living. He had been carefully taught 


Dunnohoo. 


i97 


to read and write, and upon this the boy 
built the rest of his education. He had also 
been taught to do whatever he did thoroughly, 
to get all he might earn and to take nothing 
that he had not earned, to be honest and to 
speak the truth. He toiled whenever he 
could get work ; he weeded gardens, ran on 
errands, and turned his hand to many little 
jobs so handily that he was in great request. 
At length he rose to be a courier, and proved 
himself to be so trustworthy that he never 
lacked employment. In the morning he went 
to the great square in front of the King’s 
palace, where all the couriers were to be 
found, ready to do his duty when called on ; 
and, when his day’s labour was over, returned 
to his hut, ate his frugal meal, read an hour 
or two in one of the few books he had, and 
then went to bed, to rise the next day and do 
as he had done the day before. But there 
was one book which he could not read, and 
which he kept in a safe place. It was a 
small volume, bound in gilded vellum and 
studded with pearls, and it was written in 
characters which Dunnohoo could not under- 


198 Fairy Tales* 

stand. His father had told him that some 
day it would be read, to his great benefit ; 
but he must wait. “ Be patient,” said his 
father ; “ for the hour will come and the man.” 

Dunnohoo did not live by himself always. 
When he was twenty years of age, he picked 
up a small yellow dog in the street. It was 
gaunt, lean, and appeared to be half starved. 
It fawned upon him ; and, taking pity upon 
it, he brought it home. No one claimed it, 
and, as it improved in condition, it grew very 
fond of him. So when he went abroad in the 
morning he left Brant (for such was the dog’s 
name) to take care of the place ; and the dog 
and his master became very good friends. 

One day Dunnohoo had gone to the public 
square, as usual ; but it was near noon before 
any one had occasion for his services. In the 
morning a carriage containing a nobleman 
and a young lady had been driven to the 
royal palace, and Dunnohoo had seen them 
enter. He knew the Lord Scowl well enough, 
having seen him at a distance before that ; 
but the beautiful young lady was a stranger. 
So he asked of Lord Scowl’s footman, who 


Dunnohoo. 


i99 


told him that the lady was a princess, named 
Darling ; and that her father had been killed 
and she driven from her land by a great giant, 
at the head of an army of giants, who had 
overrun the place. And this giant, King 
Grum, was a foot taller than any of his sol- 
diers, being thirty-one feet high. He was 
different in appearance and nature from his 
subjects, for he had arms of iron, legs of lead, 
a body of silver, and a head of gold, while his 
lips were made of two huge rubies, and his 
eyes of two immense diamonds, the size of 
goose eggs. And this princess had come to 
the Court of Cloudland, and sought the pro- 
tection of Lord Scowl, who had been embassa- 
dor to the king her grandfather and was seek- 
ing from King Shadow an army to overcome 
Grum and his forces and restore her to the 
throne of her fathers. And Dunnohoo, when 
he heard that, began to dream with his eyes 
open. And he saw himself at the head of a 
strong force, attacking and slaying King Grum, 
and then married to the Princess Darling, 
and clad in cloth of gold, with a crown on his 
head and a sceptre in his hand. And he said 


200 Fairy Talcs, 

to himself : “ She is doubtless a beautiful 
damosel and high-born, and would scorn to 
touch my hand ; and yet she shall be my dar- 
ling before long, and I shall kill King Grum, 
and give her the rubies of his lips to wear on 
her head, and I will have his two diamond 
eyes for my fortune.” 

As he stood there, thinking thus, there 
came out a page from the palace, with a let- 
ter to be sent to my Lord Scowl’s house by 
a trusty hand, and as Dunnohoo was known 
to be a trustworthy courier, it was given to 
him, with orders to deliver it to the Lady 
Griffiniska, his Lordship’s daughter, and to 
bring back what he should receive. So he 
made his way as he was told ; and received a 
small casket of gold, with instructions to give 
it to no one but Lord Scowl himself. So he 
returned with it, and was taken in to where 
Lord Scowl and the Princess were, and handed 
the casket to the former. He received a 
broad silver piece for his pains, to which the 
Princess added a small gold coin, and then 
Lord Scowl noted the messenger for the 
first time. 


Dunnohoo. 


201 


“ Pray, young man,” he said, “who are you 
and what is your name ? ” 

“ I am a courier, my Lord,” he replied, 
“and am called Dunnohoo.” 

“ And what is your father’s name ? ” con- 
tinued Lord Scowl, who seemed to be troub- 
led at his sight. 

“ My father has no name,” replied Dunno- 
hoo, which was a polite way they had in 
Cloudland of saying that a man was dead. 

“ But what name had he,” pursued the 
nobleman, “when he was with you here ?” 

“He called himself ‘ Nameless and Land- 
less,’ ” was the answer ; “ and he told me never 
to fear, for the hour would come and the man.” 

Lord Scowl shuddered at these words, and 
asked him where he lived and made him de- 
scribe the exact spot. Then he dismissed 
him. But the Princess said to him, as he was 
going : 

“ Good-bye, Dunnohoo. I wish for the 
hour that shall see the downfall of King 
Grum, and the man to overthrow him.” 

And to this he replied : “ Never fear. The 
hour will come and the man.” 


202 


Fairy Tales* 


Whereupon Lord Scowl shuddered again, 
and this time he looked angrily at the courier ; 
but he turned away, without a word. 

All that day, wherever he went, Dunnohoo 
thought upon the Princess Darling, and 
thought about the time to come when he 
should restore her to her own, after having 
slain King Grum and defeated his army. 

But that night, when he went home, he was 
met by his yellow dog, whom he had left 
locked up in the hut, and who came out all 
bruised and bloody, as though it had been 
beaten by some cruel hand. He hurried on, 
and found his door open. On entering the 
hut, he saw that intruders had been there and 
that the place had been searched. Everything 
was tossed about in confusion, and his little 
hoard of money had been taken from its hid- 
ing-place, but not carried off. Those who had 
been there had not stolen anything. He 
closed and barred the door, and, when he 
found he was alone, removed the hearthstone 
and drew from their concealment his book cf 
gold, and a box, which he opened, and found 
there a velvet cap, a sword, and a pair of boots, 


Dunnohoo. 


203 


which had been given him by his father, on 
his death-bed, with an injunction to keep 
them until the hour came. And then he sat 
down to reflect and to try to guess why his 
place had been visited. The more he thought 
the less he could make of it. He then oc- 
cupied himself in washing his dog and dressing 
his wounds. And then he said : 

“ Ah ! Brant, if you could only speak, you 
could tell me something.” 

The dog opened his mouth and replied : 
“ Of course, I could, and I can.” 

Dunnohoo sprang to his feet in amaze- 
ment. Brant had never spoken a word be- 
fore, nor had he led him to suppose he had 
the power of speech. So he could only stam- 
mer out : 

“ Is it possible that you can talk?” 

“Not only possible, but actually so,” said 
the dog. “ The fact of the matter is that I 
am not a dog at all, but the Djinn Djim Kro, 
who have been condemned by the King of the 
Djinni to take this shape and keep it until 
the hour came and the man, and the Giant 
Grum shall have been slain, and the Princess 


204 


Fairy Tales* 

Darling is to be married. This is the hour. 
Now you have arrived at your twenty-first 
birthday ; and the house has been searched 
and the doom out. And I can tell you why 
they came here, and why they will come to- 
morrow.” 

“ And I should like to know who did it, 
and why?” exclaimed Dunnohoo, who had 
begun to recover his courage. 

“ It was done by the order of Lord Scowl.” 

“ But why ?” 

“ Because he wanted the boots and the cap 
and the sword and the book of gold ; for he 
knew, when you told him you were the son of 
Nameless and Landless, and gave him the 
words ‘ The hour will come and the man,’ that 
you must have them.” 

“ How did he know that ?” 

“ Because he is a wicked sorcerer, and it 
was through his arts that your father was a 
banished and disinherited man ; and he would 
have had them long since, but that your father 
was kept from his search by the King of the 
Djinni, who sent me here to invoke your pity 
and to serve you,” 


Dunnohoo* 


205 


“ But, if these things be of such value, why 
were they not made to serve my father? ” 

“ Because they could be only used when 
the hour came and the man. The hour is 
here and you are the man ; and if you be 
guided by me you shall recover your father’s 
possessions, and overthrow Grum, and marry 
the Princess, and reign over all broad Won- 
derland.” 

“ What must I do ? ” 

'‘Take these talismans and me and set out 
for Wonderland, where the people, who are 
in hiding from the giants, await your coming.” 

“ It is a year’s journey,” said Dunnohoo. 

“You have only to put on the boots and 
walk and wish to be there, and you will find 
it to be not over a minute’s travel. Now go 
to bed and to sleep, and I shall awaken you 
bright and early in the morning.” 

“Since you know so much, perhaps you 
will tell me what is written in the book?” 

“ If I were back to my state as a Djinn I 
could tell you, for we Djinni known every- 
thing; but a dog cannot read. You must 
wait,” 


206 


Fairy Tales* 

And with that the dog lay down on the 
rug, after turning around three times, and 
curled himself into a ball, with the tip of his 
tail at the end of his nose, and was asleep in 
an instant. 

The next morning Dunnohoo was awak- 
ened by the barking of Brant, whereupon he 
drew on the boots, put the cap on his head, 
girded the sword to his side, thrust the book 
in his vest, and, taking the dog under his 
arm, began to walk ; and the minute after 
found himself in a strange country. 

On a thousand hills there were a thousand 
castles, made of gold and studded with jewels ; 
but one hill had a castle bigger and stronger 
than the rest, and that was the castle of the 
King. And the rivers ran up-hill, and the 
trees grew with their roots upward, and the 
fishes perched in the trees and chirped, and 
the cows in the pastures sang songs, and the 
sky was red, and the grass blue, and Dunno- 
hoo knew that he was in Wonderland. The 
roads were all of golden sand, and Brant, who 
had been set down when they arrived, trotted 
alongside of his master. 


Dunnohoo. 


207 


tl I don’t know how it is with you, Brant,” 
said Dunnohoo ; “ but as for me, I would 
like some breakfast.” 

“ Whistle ! ” said Brant. 

Whereupon the young man whistled, and a 
roast pig emerged from a thicket, with a knife 
and fork in his back, and a plate of apple-sauce 
in his mouth, which he set down at the feet of 
Dunnohoo. The pig squeaked out: “ Break- 
fast ready.” Dunnohoo needed no second 
invitation, but sat down ; and, seizing the 
knife and fork, cut off several slices, a pro- 
ceeding which the pig seemed rather to enjoy 
than otherwise. Looking around, the trav- 
eller saw the down-growing branches of a 
bread-bush, on which fruit was a hot roll, 
ready buttered ; and he helped himself to 
these, tossing morsels now and then to the 
dog. 

“ This is very comfortable, Brant,” said 
Dunnohoo ; “ but it’s rather dry eating, after 
all.” 

“There is a bottle-vine around this bush,” 
was the reply. 

And so it proved, with several of the bottles 


208 


Fairy Tales* 

ripe and filled with a most delicious liquor. 
It was not wine, nor honey, nor milk, but 
something that reminded one of all three, and 
Dunnohoo pronounced it to be good. When 
he had drank enough, he asked Brant what 
he should do next. 

“That cap on your head,” said the dog, “is 
a wishing-cap ; but its power is limited to 
granting three wishes during a year. If I 
were you, I would wish to be a giant for 
twenty-four hours, taller and stronger than 
King Grum.” 

“ Good ! I wish that ! ” said Dunnohoo. 

As he said this, he felt himself growing 
taller and taller, and stouter and stouter, until 
he shot up so far in the air that the tall trees 
around him seemed to be but bushes and the 
ends of their bare roots so many threads. 
The sword by his side and the clothes on his 
back increased in size with his body. And, to 
talk with the dog, he had either to stoop or to 
take the animal up and place him in the palm 
of his hand. 

“Now,” said Brant, “wish for a civil war 
among the giants.” 


Dunnohoo. 


209 


Good ! I wish that very much ! ” 

At once there was a great noise, as of fight- 
ing — the neighing of horses, the blare of 
trumpets, and the clashing of swords. Climb- 
ing the nearest hill and looking down into the 
valley beneath, Dunnohoo saw two armies of 
giants engaged in battle. On one side was 
King Grum, and on the other, a great giant 
clad in steel armor. After a desperate battle, 
the rebels were defeated, with great slaughter. 

• “ Now is your time,” said Brant. 

“ Mine ! ” exclaimed Dunnohoo, in dismay. 
“ How am I to fight so many?” 

“ Depend on your sword ! ” returned Brant. 
“ When you have once drawn it, it will slay 
any and all you will to be slain.” 

Thereupon Dunnohoo advanced, and as he 
waved his sword the heads of the giants 
began to drop, right and left, rapidly. But no 
sooner had King Grum seen this new enemy 
than, without waiting further, he cried out 
“ The hour has come, and the man ! ” and 
ran off, never stopping until he reached his 
own castle, where he barred and bolted the 
great gate. In the meanwhile the sword 


210 


Fairy Tales* 

worked back and forth on the field, until all the 
giants were slain. Then Dunnohoo made for 
King Grum’s castle ; but found that he could 
not enter. 

“ Here is a difficulty we did not foresee,” 
said he. 

“ All right ! ” said Brant. “ All you have 
to do is to ” 

“ Do !” interrupted the young man angrily. 
“ After all our doing, here is Grum en- 
trenched in a place so strong that no one can 
drive him out. I wish a fire would break out 
in his jack-boots, and melt down his leaden 
legs for him.” 

“ Now you have done it ! ” exclaimed Brant. 
“You've wasted your last wish, and can't 
have another for a year.” 

Dunnohoo looked rather blank at this, but 
there was no help for it. 

1 am tired, anyhow,” he said, “ and need 
rest. So I shall lie down here and have a 
good night's sleep ; and, as you are a watch- 
ful fellow, you can keep a sharp lookout and 
see that Grum doesn’t run away before morn- 
ing.” 


Dunnohoo. 


2 1 1 


“ No danger of that,” replied Brant. His 
legs have all melted down before this, and 
the lead has hardened into two lumps, and he 
can’t get along on the stumps.” 

So Dunnohoo picked out the softest rock 
for his pillow and lay down on the bare 
ground, and fell into a peaceful slumber ; while 
Brant lay beside him, with his head between 
his paws and his tail curled over his back, 
keeping one eye open, while he went to sleep 
with the other. 

Next morning, bright and early, Dunnohoo 
arose and walked around the castle, but could 
find no way to enter. Nor could he see any 
one. In truth, King Grum was all alone ; for 
the day before he had taken all the servants, 
and even the women, as recruits in the battle, 
and they had been all killed. As for the 
children, they were all off at boarding-school. 
And the giant himself was quite a dwarf now, 
not over fifteen feet high ; for his long leaden 
legs had melted down to a pair of knobs, and 
he could only wobble along by means of his 
hands and arms, and was in a very gloomy 
state of mind about it. 


212 


Fairy Talcs* 

Dunnohoo was about to go off in despair, 
and had already cut the roots off a twenty-foot 
tree and trimmed it down for a staff, when it 
felt so heavy that he was obliged to drop it. 
To his wonder, he found that he had shrunk 
back to his original size, and was only five feet 
eleven inches in height. The time of his wish 
had expired. 

“ Now you can overcome Grum readily,” 
said Brant. 

So, instructed by the dog, and not with- 
out some labour, Dunnohoo moved the staff 
to the door of the castle, and cut notches in it, 
about a foot apart. Then he raised it so that 
its top stood against the castle door, just at 
the huge keyhole, which was big enough to 
admit a man’s body, and into which, being a 
giant no longer, he could crawl. Then the 
dog ran up after him, and crouched in one of 
the wards of the lock, while Dunnohoo drew 
up the notched staff and let it down on the 
inside. Then they both got down into the 
entrance hall. There they found another 
great door, and that was bolted and barred and 
there was no keyhole. But the dog dis- 


Dunnohoo* 


213 


covered a rat hole, about two feet wide, at the 
bottom : and through this Dunnohoo crept, 
sword in hand, and Brant after him. 

There was the giant, sure enough, looking 
gloomily at his leaden knobs ; and the mo- 
ment he saw them he asked : 

“ Has the hour come ?” 

And Dunnohoo answered, drawing his 
sword : 

“ And the man ! ” 

The sword leaped out and cut off the head 
of King Grum, and the diamond eyes rolled 
out, and the ruby lips fell off, and Dunnohoo 
put them both in his pocket. 

And then — whether because it was published 
in the morning newspapers or because some 
courier informed them I do not know — all 
the principal people of the kingdom came out 
of the places where they had been hidden since 
the coming of the giants, and offered Dunno- 
hoo the crown of Wonderland, which he ac- 
cepted in a neat speech. 

But just at this time they heard the blowing 
of trumpets and the beating of drums, and, on 
looking out of the window of the castle, they 


214 Fairy Tales* 

beheld a large army, sent by the King of 
Cloudland, with Lord Scowl in command ; 
and he proclaimed in a loud voice that Dunno- 
hoo was a traitor and usurper, and that he 
held the crown and the kingdom against the 
Princess Darling, who w r as the rightful sover- 
eign of the realm. 

Whereupon Dunnohoo went forth, sword 
in hand, and proposed to do battle in behalf 
of his right ; and the sword leapt forth and 
took off the head of Lord Scowl, and that was 
the end of him. Then Dunnohoo offered his 
hand and fortune to the Princess, who dropped 
a courtesy and said “ If you please,” and that 
matter was settled. 

Then Brant changed his form suddenly to 
that of the Djinn Djim Kro, as black as a 
raven ; and, taking the book from Dunnohoo, 
he read aloud from it, in a clear voice and 
minding all his stops, how King Terrible, 
who reigned over Wonderland, at the prompt- 
ing of Lord Scowl, who was then the Cloud- 
land ambassador at his Court, had set aside 
the succession of his son, Prince Toilsome, 
in favour of the younger brother, Prince Silky, 


Dunnohoo. 




the father of Darling, and banished the elder 
son, with his child ; and how the latter, who 
had taken the name of Nameless and Land- 
less, was told by a venerable hermit, with a 
long beard and a red nose, that all would be 
righted when the hour came and the man. 
And then he hailed Dunnohoo, by his proper 
name of Useful, as the king of all broad Won- 
derland. 

And King Useful the First and his Queen 
Darling reigned over the country, and the 
Djinn Djim Kro was his prime minister, and 
the land prospered and many good laws were 
made ; and, among the rest, it was ordered 
that all yellow dogs found wandering without 
a master should be taken care of and be called 
by the name of Brant. And that is all. 


XIII. 


Roleyboley and his Comrades. 

Once upon a time, in the great Kingdom 
of Impossible, where the trees grow with their 
roots in the air and their branches in the 
ground ; where the little dogs wear ribbons 
in their noses, and the cats are shod with 
golden thimbles, there was a little boy called 
Roleyboley, who went forth to seek his for- 
tune. And he travelled until he came to a 
place in the road where a boy who had a fiddle 
sat upon a stone. 

Roleyboley said to the boy : “ Play me a 
tune.” 

But the boy answered : “ I must first con- 
sider of that. For whenever I play on this fid- 
dle I raise the wind, and that brings the 
clouds, and the clouds open and the rain 
comes down. If I were to play, we should 
both have wet jackets presently. Besides, I 


217 


Roleyboley and his Comrades* 

am seeking a fortune, and first of all a com- 
rade ; for without I have a comrade I can do 
nothing.” 

“What is your name?” inquired Roley- 
boley. 

“ Rackum,” was the answer. 

“Well, then,” returned Roleyboley, “you 
shall be my comrade, and fiddle when I desire. 
It must be a good thing to be able to raise 
the wind and make the rain come down. I 
am seeking my fortune, also ; and when I get 
it you shall have half.” 

To that the other agreed, and they travelled, 
and they travelled, until they came where 
two roads met ; and there stood a boy who 
had a coat four times too large for him. 

“ Where is that coat going with that boy ? ” 
inquired Roleyboley. 

The boy answered : “ That coat can go 
anywhere with the boy, if the boy ask it to 
go anywhere. I have only to take it off, and 
place it on the ground, and sit on it, when it 
will carry me — and whoever else I please — 
where I please. And if I take it off and hold 
it over my head, it will make me as large a 


2l8 


Fairy Tales* 

pavilion as I choose. But I am seeking my 
fortune and a comrade ; for without a com- 
rade I can do nothing.” 

“ What is your name ?” asked Roleyboley. 

“ Phlihi,” was the answer. 

“Very good,” said Roleyboley. “You 
shall be my comrade, and carry me where we 
want to go, and shelter us whenever we de- 
sire to avoid the rain and sun. It must be a 
fine thing to bear your sail on your shoulders, 
like a nautilus, and carry your house on your 
back, like a tortoise. I am seeking my for- 
tune, too ; and when I get it you shall have 
half.” 

To this the other agreed, and they took 
the right-hand road, and they travelled, and 
they travelled, and they travelled, until they 
came to where three roads met ; and there 
they saw, lying on the ground, a boy, who 
had a large leathern bag. 

“What have you in that bag?” asked Ro- 
leyboley. 

“ Pease,” was the answer. “ But they differ 
from all others ; for when I open the bag each 
pea becomes a soldier, ready to fight for me 


219 


Roleyboley and his Comrades. 

to the death, and when I rattle the empty 
bag each soldier jumps into it, and becomes a 
pea again. But I am seeking a fortune and a 
comrade ; for without a comrade I can do noth- 
ing. 

“ What is your name ? ” demanded Roley- 
boley. 

“ Woppletybang,” was the answer. 

“ All right,” said Roleyboley. “You shall 
be my comarde, and let your soldiers fight for 
me when I need them. It must save money 
if the whole army can be put into a bag at 
meal-time. I am seeking my fortune, too ; 
and when I get it you shall have half.” 

To that the other agreed, and they took the 
middle road ; but had not gone far before the 
road dwindled to a horse-track, and then to 
a foot-path, and then gave out entirely. Just 
at this place there stood a little girl, clad in 
red, white, and gold, whom everybody could 
see was the sweetest and most beautiful Prin- 
cess in the whole world ; and she had with 
her a white greyhound, with black ears and 
red eyes. 

“ What are you doing here ? ” inquired 


220 


Fairy Tales. 

Roleyboley. “And who are you, anyhow?” 
which was very rude of him. 

And the Princess answered : “ I am the 
daughter of Lollipop, King of Konfexionari, 
who was driven from his kingdom by the 
usurper, Bigboi, and who died in exile ; and 
this is my dog, Fang. And I have eaten 
nothing since morning but nine Bathbuns, and 
four cranberry tarts, and a poundcake, and 
six doughnuts, and five crullers, and four 
apples, and thirty queencakes, and a pound 
of gingernuts ; and I am so hungry, I don’t 
know — what — to — do. And I want a cham- 
pion to fight for my kingdom ; for I can’t, and 
Fang here, he can’t. And I wish I was a girl 
that sells matches, I do.” 

“ What is your name ? ” asked Roleyboley. 

“ Caramel,” was the answer. 

“ That will do,” said Roleyboley. “ I will 
be your champion and restore you to your 
kingdom. I am seeking my fortune ; and I 
am to give half of it to each of my comrades 
and keep the rest for myself, and what is left 
over after that you shall have.” 

To this the Princess agreed. And then 


221 


Roleyboley and his Comrades* 

the whole five would have set out to pursue 
their travel ; but it had grown dark by this 
time and they had lost their way. 

Then they looked north, and saw nothing. 

So they looked south, and saw the same. 

Next they looked east, with the same re- 
sult. 

Finally they looked west, and they saw 
a light. So they travelled westward, until 
they came to a hut ; and Roleyboley knocked 
at the door, which was opened by an old 
woman, who had long white hair, a bent 
back, with a nose and chin that met each 
other, and only one eye, which was at the top 
of her forehead. But none of them were 
afraid of old women, for each of them had a 
grandmother ; and Roleyboley at once in- 
quired of her if they could have supper and 
shelter for the night. 

The old woman answered: “If you can 
each be content with a biscuit and a mug of 
water, and to lie on a bed made out of one 
straw, you can have food and lodging.” 

And they all said they would be content. 

“ But,” added the old woman, “ as the little 


222 


Fairy Tales* 

girl here is the sweetest and most beautiful 
princess in the world, and is so hungry, she 
shall have a red-cheeked apple besides.” 

So they went into the cottage, where the 
old woman gave them what she had said ; and 
also gave Fang a red herring, with black pepper 
on its tail. And when they had finished the 
meal she showed them to their beds, where 
they all slept soundly, except Roleyboley, who 
complained that he had rolled off his straw 
several times. 

The next morning they rose with the sun, 
and the old woman cooked them some oat- 
meal porridge for their breakfast. Then 
Roleyboley gave his hostess a penny, to 
pay for what they had received. The old 
woman looked around for a halfpenny change ; 
but Roleyboley, as the champion of the 
sweetest and most beautiful princess in the 
world, disdained to receive it, and told her to 
keep it all and buy a gingerbread horse, on 
which she might ride for exercise. Then he 
asked the Princess Caramel how far it was to 
the Kingdom of Konfexionari. 

“About ten thousand leagues, or a mile, 


Roleyboley and his Comrades* 223 

maybe,” said the Princess ; “ but I don’t 
know exactly, and I am so hungry.” 

Then Roleyboley said : “ Here is a chance 
for you, Phlihi.” 

So they went to the door of the hut ; and, 
Phlihi having spread his coat on the ground, 
they all sat down on it, with the Princess 
and her dog Fang in the middle. Then 
Phlihi said : 

“ It flies I 
We rise, 

To man’s surprise.” 

With that the coat rose in the air with them, 
and in less time than you could say “ Bumly- 
bee-with-his-tail-cut-off ” they were landed in 
the country where the rivers ran lemonade, 
and the sands were white sugar, and the rocks 
were gingerbread and hard-bake ; and they 
all knew they had come to the Kingdom of 
Konfexionari. And about a half mile off they 
saw a huge castle of rock-candy, which was 
the royal palace, where resided the usurper, 
Bigboi. 

“Now,” said Roleyboley, “let us have the 
little jokers in the bag, Woppletybang.” 


224 


Fairy Tales* 


So Woppletybang opened the leathern 
bag ; and all the peas popped out, and each 
pea became a soldier, in a light-green uniform 
and a great peas-blossom plume. And the 
soldiers formed into four ranks, waiting to de- 
molish their enemies and looking quite fierce. 

Now, when Bigboi saw the soldiers, and 
recognised the sweetest and most beautiful 
princess in the world, he ordered out all his 
army, which was made of sugar-candy, and 
put it in array. And it certainly was the most 
terrible and gallant army that ever was seen. 

The centre of the force was made up of 
the Mintstick Brigade — long, slender fellows, 
in snow-white uniforms and a red ribbon 
arranged spirally around each ; the Sugar- 
Plum Division, composed of rough-looking 
veterans, in reddish uniforms ; and the Choco- 
late-Drop Brigade, short, squab men, clad in 
brown from head to foot. On the right the 
Nougat Battalion marched, ten thousand 
strong, in a brown uniform, flecked with 
yellow and white. The left was made up of 
four brigades of Lemon-Lumps, Gum-Drops, 
Kisses, and Vanilla Sticks. A strong reserve 



“ PHLIHI TOOK OFF HIS COAT AND HELD IT OVER HIS HEAD.*' 








































* 




' ' ■ I 
































Roleyboley and his Comrades* 225 

of Taffy troops brought up the rear; while 
hovering on each flank were numbers of 
Brandy-Drops, acting as cavalry — spirited 
fellows and capable of doing a deal of mis- 
chief. 

The action commenced with a discharge 
from the artillery of the enemy — huge bonbon 
cones, loaded to the muzzle with sugared 
almonds and comfits, that did great execution. 
Roleyboley, who, as general, was forced to 
keep himself out of harm’s way, stood with 
Princess Caramel and his comrades at a safe 
distance, and saw his troops falling, with great 
chagrin. Suddenly, however, one of those 
great ideas that strike fthe minds of eminent 
commanders at the proper moment occurred to 
him. 

“ Phlihi ! A pavilion for our forces and 
ourselves ! ” 

Thereupon Phlihi took off his coat and 
held it over his head ; when it became a huge 
pavilion, covering all the pea soldiers, and 
Roleyboley and his comrades, and the most 
beautiful princess in the world. 

“ Rackum ! Rain for the enemy ! ” 


226 


Fairy Talcs* 

Thereupon Rackum took his fiddle, and, 
uttering the words 

“ Come wind, come rain 
Wet ’em again ! ” 

began to play ; and as he played the wind 
arose, and clouds gathered over, and rain 
fell, and the water played sad havoc with the 
forces of Bigboi. The red ribbons of the 
Mintstick Brigade were all washed off ; the 
Sugar-Plum Veterans were speedily smoothed ; 
the Chocolate-Drops were all melted into 
one confused mass ; and the rest of the forces 
presented a mere lump of many-colored stuff, 
that stuck to the ground and couldn’t move 
an inch. Bigboi saw the condition of affairs, 
and, mounting a white sugar-candy steed, 
tried to ride away. But the torrent carried 
him right into the raging waters of Lemonade 
river, which closed over him, horse and all, 
and nobody ever saw him any more. 

Then Phlihi took down the pavilion, which 
changed back into his coat ; and that he put 
on again. 

“You have your kingdom back,” said Ro- 
leyboley. 


227 


Roleyboley and his Comrades* 

“ Yes, I see,” said Caramel. “ But it is 
near dinner-time, and I am so hungry.” 

“ No matter,” said Roleyboley. “ I am a 
geologist.” 

“ A-ge-ol-er-gist ! What is that?” asked 
the Princess. “ Is it good to eat ? ” 

“ A geologist,” said Roleyboley, with dig- 
nity, “ is one versed in the science of geology.” 

“And what is geolergee?” again queried 
the Princess. 

“ Geology,” said Roleyboley, “ if you will 
permit me to correct the pronunciation of 
your Royal Highness, is that part of natural 
philosophy which investigates the formation 
and structure of the earth, as to its rocks, 
strata, soil, minerals, organic remains, et cetera , 
and the changes which it has undergone. 
For which see Bakewell, quoted in Worces- 
ter’s dictionary, quarto, second column, page 
six hundred and thirteen.” 

“Dear me!” said Caramel, “how learned 
you are, to be sure.” And her eyes grew 
larger with admiration. “ Bakewell is a good 
name, you know ; but I can’t eat rocks, and I 
am so hungry ! ” 


228 


Fairy Tales. 

“ But,” replied Roleyboley, “ I see in yon- 
der rocks a natural deposit of hard ginger- 
bread, and I propose to quarry out enough 
for our dinner.” 

So they all set to work immediately, and 
drilled holes in the gingerbread rock, and 
blew it to pieces with giant powder, and gun- 
cotton, and nitro-glycerine, and dynamite, 
and a number of other things, whose names 
were harder than the rock itself, until they 
had enough broken to pieces ; and then they 
all made a hearty dinner, and washed it down 
with copious draughts from Lemonade river. 

Roleyboley and the most beautiful princess 
in the whole world were married, and as- 
cended the throne of Confexionari ; and 
Rackum, Phlihi, and Woppletybang became 
great lords of the Court. What happened to 
Fang I don’t know and I don’t care ; for I fail 
to see what business he had in the story. As 
for the old woman in the hut, unless she has 
died or has removed to some other place, she 
probably lives there still. But King Roley- 
boley and Queen Caramel lived long and were 
happy, and then died of a good old age. 


XIV. 


The Green Gnome. 

Once upon a time, there was a peasant 
named Peter, who lived at the edge of a wood, 
in the interior of Germany. Having had the 
good fortune to save the child of a great noble 
from drowning, the father not only gave him 
a large purse of money, but also the privilege 
of choosing four morgens of ground to be his 
and his heirs’ forever. Peter, having his 
choice of the place, picked out a beautiful bit 
of hillside, partly in grass and partly in rocks, 
suitable for a vineyard, and upon this began 
to erect a small house. As there were a 
number of fragments of rock lying around, 
more than enough for a house, he determined 
to make a deep cellar there, not only because 
it would keep the house above it dry, but 
since it would make a proper store for the 
wine which he proposed to make from the 


230 


Fairy Tales. 

grapes he intended to grow. This cellar he 
began to dig to a great depth ; but he had 
scarcely gone three feet below the surface 
when he was waited on by a little copper- 
faced man dressed in a suit of green leather, 
who thus addressed him : 

“ Peter, has the Baron yet given you the 
deed for this ground, or are you at liberty to 
change the place ? ” 

“ I have not yet formally made my choice," 
replied Peter, “ unless the digging be con- 
sidered so. But why do you ask ?" 

“ I am the King of the Gnomes," returned 
the other. “ I wish you to go a little farther 
to the right from where you now are. You 
are just over my palace, and if you dig so 
deep as you propose, you will certainly break 
a hole in my roof, and tumble into my garret, 
which is not a suitable place for a wine-vault." 

“ I don’t wish to do that," said Peter, “ so, 
if your Majesty will deign to point out where 
I should go, I will take that place in prefer- 
ence to this." 

The Gnome King thereupon pointed out 
the proper place, and said : “ Dig your cellar 


The Green Gnome* 


231 


here. It will shorten your labor ; for at three 
feet you will come upon a deserted treasure 
chamber of mine, whose door is walled up, 
and to this you are welcome. You will find a 
few scattered gold pieces, which the careless 
porters spilled while removing the treasure, 
and also a large rusty key, which I advise 
you to secure. It is a master-key, opening 
any lock, large or small, and may serve you 
at need.” 

And then the Gnome King, with a friendly 
smile, sank into the ground. 

As the King had foretold, Peter dug his 
way into a deep and spacious vault, where he 
found a hundred gold pieces and a rusty key, 
all of which he put carefully away. He fin- 
ished his cellar, and then his house, and 
planted his vineyard and his garden, all of 
which flourished. After five years he became 
very tired of his loneliness, and began to look 
around him for a wife. As he had prospered 
very much in the meanwhile, he looked above 
his rank in life for a mate, and his choice fell 
upon the Lady Theela, the only daughter of a 
decayed gentleman who was the younger son 


232 Fairy Talcs, 

of a noble family, though exceedingly poor. 
The lady herself, though of noble birth, fa- 
voured the suit of the handsome and well-to-do 
vine-grower ; but when her father heard of the 
proposal of Peter, he was quite incensed at 
the lover’s presumption. But as Peter had 
been very liberal of his first vintage, sending 
a quarter cask of the best as a present, the 
Herr von Mangelberg couched his refusal 
in courteous terms. 

“You know, Master Peter,” he said, “al- 
though so far as looks and merits go, you are 
made for a princess, yet Theela is Von Man- 
gelberg, and that, though a younger son, I am 
possessed of the title of Baron ; therefore, as 
you are not noble, there are certain little 
matters to be disposed of, before you can be- 
come my son-in-law.” 

“ And will your Lordship tell me what they 
are ? ” asked Peter. 

“ In the first place,” said Von Mangelberg, 
“ you must have at least a hundred thousand 
florins, for having no good blood yourself, 
you must be able, if you ally yourself to a 
noble house, to gild your pedigree. In the 


The Green Gnome* 


233 


second place, you must have a large estate, 
with a handsome house, and a retinue to 
match, since, though my daughter is poor, she 
has had all the advantages of society through 
my rich kinsfolk, and would pine to death if 
deprived of it. And in the last place, it is 
necessary that you should obtain a patent of 
nobility, in order that your descendants may 
be noble on both sides of the house. When 
you have complied with these requisites, the 
hand of Theela is yours. Till then, you must 
excuse me if I decline to discuss the subject.” 

Peter went home in a melancholy state of 
mind. By diligence, aided by a happy stroke 
of fortune, he might obtain the gold and 
ground ; but how was he to cause the Em- 
peror to ennoble a peasant and vine-grower ? 
He sat down in his kitchen, with a bottle of 
wine before him, and began to reckon up his 
capital, and wonder how many years it would 
take to swell his store of florins to the sum 
required. As he sat thinking he felt there 
was some one near him, and on looking up, 
beheld his friend and benefactor, the Gnome 
King. 


234 


Fairy Tales* 

“Do not despair, friend Peter,” said the 
gnome. “ Part of what you require, I can 
furnish ; the remainder must be had from 
another. Here is a purse, containing a single 
florin. No matter how often you take it out, 
another will take its place — the purse being 
inexhaustible. Go to the Court of the Em- 
peror ; take with you the rusty key w r hich you 
have stored away, and the packet of papers 
that belong to your father. You will find 
how to use both in good time.” 

With these words the Gnome King stamped 
on the floor, through which he sank. Peter 
would have thought it a dream, had not the 
purse, whose qualities he put to an immedi- 
ate test, proved the interview to be real. 

The next morning, Peter, having the papers 
and the key in his pouch, and clad in a new 
woolen suit, started, staff in hand, for the 
chief city of the empire, where he arrived 
after a three days’ journey. Once there he 
found it no easy matter to gain speech with 
the Emperor. He spoke to the porter of the 
palace, who roughly ordered him off ; and to 
the gay pages who ran to and fro, who only 


The Green Gnome* 


2 35 


jeered him. At length, very much out of 
heart, he sat down on a stone by the gate, 
and, when he reflected on his wearisome 
journey and the little end to which it had 
been made, his eyes filled, and though he was 
a grown man, the tears ran down his cheeks. 

Just at that moment the Lord High Cham- 
berlain, the Count von Albeon, came along, 
and seeing the young and handsome peasant 
in grief, asked him the cause of his trouble. 

“I cannot get to speak with the Emperor,” 
said Peter. 

“ Why do you wish to speak to him?” de- 
manded the Count. 

“ I want him to make me noble, so I can 
marry the Lady Theela von Mangelberg.” 

“ Oh ! ” cried the Count. “ That is a very 
modest request; but I fear it would not be 
granted, unless indeed you were a skilled 
locksmith, and could open the doors in the 
north crypt that have been closed from beyond 
man’s memory, and defy all efforts to unlock.” 

“ Oh ! if that be all ! ” cried Peter, who be- 
thought him of his master-key. “ But will 
that make me noble ? ” 


236 


Fairy Talcs. 

“ His Imperial Majesty has promised to 
whoever succeeds, if peasant or burgher, a 
patent of nobility ; and if already noble, a 
title one grade beyond that he bears. But if 
he fail, then, if he be noble, to be degraded 
one rank ; if a peasant, to have forty lashes, 
well laid on.” 

“ But I shall not fail.” 

“ I hope not, for the penalty must be met. 
Yet it is a great stake to play for possibly. 
All that the vault contains, and it doubtless 
has something of value, is to reward the suc- 
cessful man.” 

“It is the patent of nobility T care most 
for,” said Peter. “ Let me try.” 

The chamberlain took him to the Em- 
perors private cabinet. Peter expected to 
see the Emperor seated on a throne, clad in 
purple velvet, with a crown on his head and 
a sceptre in his hand. Instead of that he saw 
a kind-looking old gentleman, in a silken 
dressing-gown, seated in an easy chair, smok- 
ing a long pipe, and occasionally signing pa- 
pers handed him by a secretary. 

41 Well, Count ? ” asked the Emperor, 


The Green Gnome* 


*37 


“ Here is a man, your Majesty, who thinks 
he can pick the lock.” 

“ Another ! ” cried the Emperor. “ That 
will probably make the third whipping this 
week. I rather like the looks of this man, 
too. His face seems familiar to me. Let 
him try, under the usual penalty. Stay ! I 
think the morning’s business is through, and 
I may as well witness his success or failure.” 

Down to the crypt went the three, accom- 
panied by the secretary, who was as anxious 
as his master to learn the result. 

“ Now,” said Peter, as he brandished the 
rusty key, “ let us understand one another, 
Herr Kaiser. If I open the door, I am to be 
noble, and have all that lies beyond those 
doors.” 

“ Even so, friend, all that the place contains, 
and one step beyond your present rank.” 

Without farther ado, Peter thrust the key 
in the lock, and turned it. With a great clang 
the bolts flew back, and the doors opened. 

The Emperor was startled. On a number 
of shelves, ranged in order were the old crown 
jewels of the empire, that it was supposed had 


238 


Fairy Tales* 

been stolen a century before — the heavy 
crown, loaded with diamonds and rubies ; 
great collars of pearls and emeralds ; sceptres 
studded with sapphires and opals ; and 
crosses, necklaces and bracelets in great num- 
bers, and of almost incalculable value. The 
velvet cushions on which they rested, were 
moulded and half rotten, but the jewels were 
unhurt. 

Amid the burst of rejoicing the Emperor 
looked grave. “ Of course, we must keep 
our word,” said he ; “ and the treasures are 
yours. But the crown jewels must remain 
with the crown. What will you accept as 
their ransom.” 

“ If it please your Majesty, what is needed 
to marry the Lady Theela, is a hundred thou- 
sand florins, a fine estate, and a patent of no- 
bility. I have no trouble about the first two. 
Make me noble, and keep the crown jewels.” 

“Nay,” said the Emperor, “that were a 
small ransom. Who was your father, and 
where do you come from?” 

“ I do not read nor write, Herr Kaiser,” 
replied Peter; “but here are some papers 


The Green Gnome* 


239 


that belonged to my father ; and it may be 
they will tell you more than I can.” 

The Emperor glanced over them, and then 
read parts of them with care. 

“ The good Baron von Iderstein ! ” he ex- 
claimed. 14 And he was your father ! He was 
a much wronged man, and our august father 
was misled so much by false statements as to 
confiscate his estates, and banish him from 
Court. I recognise you now by my memory 
of him, and that is why your face seemed so 
familiar. Mr. Secretary, see that a patent be 
prepared for the new Count von Iderstein ; 
that the forms to restore the family estates be 
began, and that a deed of gift of the seigniory 
of Berhoff, with the title annexed be made 
out. Count von Iderstein-Berhoff, we shall 
be always pleased to receive you.” 

When this was known, many were the con- 
gratulations of the courtiers, who were ready 
to welcome the rising man ; but Peter was 
only anxious to convey the good news to the 
Lady Theela, and excused himself as soon as 
possible. 

Of course, there was no lack of consent 


240 


Fairy Tales, 

now by the master of Mangelberg. In a short 
time there was a grand wedding, which was 
honoured by the presence of the Emperor him- 
self, and the Princess of the blood imperial. 
There was also a guest unknown to the 
others — a little man, with a copper face, who 
was dressed in green velvet, and his tunic 
covered with jewels. At the close of the 
ceremony, this stranger advanced to the 
bride, and placed in her hands a necklace, 
bracelets and ear-rings, made up of the larg- 
est and most perfect emeralds that had ever 
been seen. While the ladies crowded around 
to examine them, the Gnome King stamped 
on the floor, which opened and closed over 
him, and neither Peter nor his guests ever 
saw him more. 


XV. 


The Turned Loaf. 

Once upon a time King Easy reigned over 
Cocagne. His only son and heir-apparent, 
Prince Dauntless, was a young man of great 
personal beauty, and was skilled in arms and 
horsemanship. He was also considered 
learned for the times (for in those days princes 
and noblemen left letters to clerks), and could 
write fairly and read all kinds of manuscripts. 
The fame of so much beauty, skill and learn- 
ing spread far and wide, and was heard of so 
far as the land of Thoule, in the north, and 
Prester Johns country, f in the east. Little 
was talked of at the surrounding Courts but 
the merits of ' this prodigy of beauty and 
knowledge, and the Queens around who had 
marriageable daughters were desirous of ob- 
taining Prince Dauntless for a son-in-law. A 
travelling artist of great merit, having been 


242 


Fairy* Talcs* 

patronised by the royal family of Cocagne, 
was graciously permitted to retain for himself 
a copy of the portrait which he had made of 
the Prince. This he carried away to his home 
in Grimland, over which at that time reigned 
his Most Terrible Majesty, King Fiery. 
This portrait he presented to his patron, 
Count Simple, who held a highly responsible 
position at Court. The Count in turn pre- 
sented the portrait to his wife, who showed 
it to her dear friend, the Countess Grissilissa, 
First Lady of the Bedchamber to the Princess 
Royal. In this way it came that the Princess, 
whose name was Charming, had a sight of 
it, and straightway fell in love with the orig- 
inal. She therefore spoke to her mother, 
Queen Matrona, who in turn spoke to the 
King. The result of it was that King Fiery 
despatched an embassador to the Court of Co- 
cagne, proffering his daughter as consort to 
Prince Dauntless, with a promise, as there was 
no male heir, of the succession of the latter to 
the throne of Grimland. King Easy was 
very much pleased at the proposed alliance, for 
the territories of the two kingdoms lay side 


The Turned Loaf* 


*43 


by side, and their union would make a power- 
ful realm. But the Prince, who seemed to 
become at once willful and whimsical, took an 
aversion to the lady whom he had never seen. 
As his father insisted on his obedience, and 
declared he must sacrifice his personal feel- 
ings to the good of the State, the Prince de- 
termined to avoid the marriage by flight. So 
he gathered together a sum of money suf- 
ficient for his needs, and, unknown to any in 
the palace, mounted his steed at nightfall and 
made his way out of the country. 

The Prince, in order not to be known, as- 
sumed the name of Wanderman, and passed 
during his travels for a merchant. He made 
his way through many countries, seeing 
strange sights, and making himself acquainted 
with the manners and customs of the people. 
After he had passed a twelvemonth in this 
manner he found that he had very little 
money left, so he turned the head of his horse 
homeward, intending to return to his own 
country. On the way he met with three 
travellers, and, after the fashion of those who 
meet in their journeys, he stopped to exchange 


244 Fairy Talcs* 

news, and at last inquired about their success 
in Cocagne. 

“ There is no trade there since the war,” 
said the elder of the three strangers. “ The 
people are poor, for the land has been deso- 
lated, and troops of the enemy still occupy a 
great portion of the country, so that business 
is uncertain and neither the property nor life 
of the trader quite safe.” 

“You astonish me,” said the Prince. “A 
year since the country was at peace.” 

“ Very true,” returned the other, “but you 
must know that about that time the heir-ap- 
parent of the kingdom left it secretly and has 
not since been heard of. Some say it was 
to avoid a marriage with Princess Charming, 
of Grimland. The father of the Princess 
believed that it was done by connivance of 
King Easy, and resented the slight by raising 
a large army, invading Cocagne, defeating the 
forces of Cocagne in a pitched battle, and 
overrunning the country. He drove the 
King out of his dominions and offered a re- 
ward for Prince Dauntless, whom he declares 
he will put to death.” 


The Turned Loaf* 


2 45 


“ That makes it unpleasant for the young 
man,” said the Prince, coolly ; “ but where is 
King Easy ?” 

“ He has taken refuge in Lubberland, 
whose King has received him. He is still 
attached to his son, whom he believes to be in 
strange countries. He has abdicated in his 
favour, so that the latter will be King, provided 
he is alive and shall be able to conquer his 
kingdom.” 

“Which he could not do now,” said the 
younger of the three travellers ; “but if he 
have patience and skill he may yet raise an 
army, for he is beloved by the people, who hate 
the Grimlanders and would follow his banner.” 

The travellers then rode on, leaving the 
Prince to consider the state of affairs. Re- 
flection convinced him that he could do noth- 
ing just then, but must wait fora more favour- 
able time to strike a blow in defence of his 
rights. He at first thought of going to where 
his father had taken refuge, but concluded to 
place himself where he could best study the 
character and resources of the enemy. “ The 
last place where I would be sought for,” said 


246 


Fairy Tales* 

he to himself, “ should be in Grimland itself. 
No one would expect to find me there, hence 
there is where I shall go.” So he travelled in 
that direction, and on the way bought him a 
stout leather jerkin, which he donned, hiding 
his coat in a cavern in the forest. He cut off 
the long locks which it was the fashion for 
young gentlemen to wear, stained his skin 
brown, changed his bonnet for a steel cap, re- 
mounted his horse, and gave out wherever he 
went that he was a wandering man-at-arms, 
seeking service with some prince or lord. 

On the morning of the second day after he 
had met with the travellers he arrived at a 
wood on the outskirts of Schwarzburg, the 
capital city of Grimland. Here he noticed a 
horse-path leading from the main road, and 
judging that it was a near way he entered it. 
He had not ridden far when he heard the 
screams of women, and he spurred his horse 
until he arrived at the place whence the 
sounds proceeded. There he beheld, in the 
hands of three ruffians, two ladies, one of 
whom was young and beautiful, and seemed 
to be of superior rank to her companion. 


The Turned Loaf. 


247 


Drawing his sword and riding up to the group 
the Prince bade the freebooters to release 
their hold. 

44 Sir,” said one of them, 44 go about your 
business or it will be a bad business for you. 
We came across these two damselswandering 
here, and as they have jewels and gold chains, 
and we have no money, it is our purpose to 
relieve them of these, and do them no harm. 
This is our affair alone. So go your way, 
young man, or dread hard blows.” 

44 Save me ! ” cried the younger of the ladies, 
breaking suddenly from the hold of the ruffian, 
and approaching Dauntless. 

The Prince said nothing more but cut down 
the ruffian who had spoken at a single blow. 
Thereupon the other two attacked him vigor- 
ously, while the ladies fled. The Prince, who 
was a good swordsman, and had his horse per- 
fectly under control, disarmed one of his an- 
tagonists and ran the other through the body. 
The disarmed man fled, and the Prince, not 
caring to pursue him, followed and soon over- 
took the ladies, who, on seeing him, stopped 
and awaited his coming. 


243 Fairy Tales* 

The younger of the two ladies then said, 
“We thank you, Sir Man-at-arms, for your 
service, and would be glad should you escort 
us a short distance farther to the mansion 
which we incautiously left, and then retire. 
We strolled out in the forest unthinkingly, and 
would have paid dearly for my folly but for 
your coming.” 

Dauntless looked at the lady as she spoke, 
and she scanned him with furtive curiosity, 
mingled with a look of gratitude. She was 
young and beautiful, and clad as became a 
demoiselle of high degree. But what he most 
noticed was her golden hair, which, though 
bound together on her head by a fillet of 
pearls, fell behind her in long tresses far be- 
low her waist. He bowed when she had done 
speaking, and replied : 

“ I shall guard you, noble lady, whither you 
will, and retire when I shall have been assured 
that you are in safety. I am of gentle birth, 
though now but a simple man-at-arms, bearing 
the name of Wanderman, and you may trust 
to me.” 

“ I trust you, gentle sir,” said the lady blush- 


The Turned Loaf* 


249 


ing, “and the more so because I know who 
you are, and that you are not what you seem.” 

This speech much astonished Dauntless, 
but he did not reply to it, and dismounting, 
walked with the ladies in silence until they 
came to the garden wall surrounding a stately 
palace. In this wall was a small gate, which 
the elder of the two opened with a silver key. 
The younger then turned to Dauntless, and 
said : 

“If you seek the city, fair sir, you have 
mistaken the road. Retrace your path, and 
when you reach the highway keep to that. 
You may get in peril, being what you are and 
going where you aim. Take this ruby ring, 
and should evil befall you send it to the Lady 
of the Golden Ringlets and she may be able 
to afford you aid.” 

Saying which, with a smile, she followed 
after her attendant, and the gate was closed. 

The Prince stood there for a few moments, 
and then, after placing the ring upon his fin- 
ger, mounted. He wondered as he rode off 
who the lady might be and whether he should 
ever see her again, but followed her directions 


250 


Fairy Tales. 

and soon reached the high road he had previ- 
ously left. Along this he went until he came 
to a wayside inn near the city gate, where he 
stopped and ordered breakfast, for he had 
eaten nothing since he rose at daybreak. In 
due time the landlord brought him a loaf of 
bread, a cold fowl and a flask of wine, with 
which the Prince refreshed himself, the host 
waiting upon him. Toward the close of the 
meal the Prince cut off an additional slice of 
bread, and returning the loaf to the plate in- 
advertently placed it upside down. No sooner 
had he done this than the landlord made a 
great outcry. At this the servants of the inn 
came rushing into the room, and beheld their 
master, with an expression of horror upon 
his face, pointing at the table. Comprehend- 
ing the situation they threw themselves upon 
Dauntless, and by force of numbers bore him 
to the floor and bound him securely with cords. 

So soon as he could recover his breath the 
Prince demanded the cause of this treatment. 

" Unhappy young man,” exclaimed the land- 
lord, “ you are sure to lose your life for this 
offence.” 


The Turned Loaf, 25 1 

“ What offence ?” demanded Dauntless. 

“ Know, then, that many years since the 
king who then reigned over this country was 
killed by wicked men, and the signal for at- 
tack upon him was the turning of a loaf of 
bread upon the table by the chief of the con- 
spirators. His successor, King Terrible the 
First, of blessed memory, enacted a law, 
which has never been repealed, that whoever 
was proven by the testimony of an eyewitness 
to have placed a loaf on a plate upside down 
should be tried by the chief-justice of the king- 
dom in the presence of the sovereign himself, 
and if convicted be at once put to death.” 

“ But,” said the Prince, “ why trouble 
yourself about a thing that can do you no 
good. On the contrary, I have ample 
means ” 

“What!” exclaimed the landlord, “would 
you bribe an old soldier because necessity has 
made him keep an inn ? Away with him to 
prison ! ” 

And so prompt were they at this command 
that in less than an hour after he first sat 
down to table the Prince found himself in 


252 Fairy Talcs* 

prison, with the door of his dungeon locked 
and barred. There he lay in bonds and in 
melancholy plight, wondering what defence 
he could make to the charge against him. 
He knew that ignorance of the law would 
afford him no plea, and he could devise no 
mode of escape. At length he remembered 
of the ring given him by the lady in the forest, 
and hoped to find some mode of sending it to 
her and apprising her of his danger. Just 
then a turnkey came, opened the door of his 
cell and unloosened his bonds. Having done 
this he was about to go, when Dauntless 
thought he knew him. 

“ Stay, my man,” said he, “ is your name 
Tricksir?” 

The turnkey started, looked confused, and 
then replied : “ My name is Gruff.” 

“ That is odd, too,” responded the Prince, 
“for you look exactly like one who, five years 
since, was condemned to die in my country, 
but whose life was spared at my request, on 
condition he would leave for foreign parts.” 

The turnkey, upon this, gazed in the face 
of the Prince and knew him. He threw him- 


T he Turned Loaf* 253 

self upon his knees and kissed the hand of 
Dauntless. 

u Ah ! your Highness !” he cried. “ My 
benefactor ! How can I serve you with life or 
limb?” 

“ Do not know me longer as a Prince. I 
am here called Wanderman. Aid me to 
escape from this prison.” 

“ Alas ! that is impossible ! I have only the 
keys of these cells, but not those of the great 
door. If we had only a week I might compass 
it, but to-morrow they try you, and then ” 

“ All is not lost until the end comes ; you 
can serve me, nevertheless. Do you know 
where to find the Lady of the Golden Ring- 
lets ? ” 

“ Every one knows where to find her.” 

“ Take this ring, seek her at once, give it to 
her, and say that he who saved her is here 
and needs aid. Go ! ” 

“At once, your Highness”; and he de- 
parted, closing the door after him, before the 
Prince had bethought him to ask about the 
lady whom every one knew. 

All that day long Dauntless waited in vain 


2 54 


Fairy Tales* 

for an answer to his message. The turnkey 
did not return, and another took his place, 
who served him in silence. At nightfall, how- 
ever, the warden of the prison made his rounds, 
and the Prince saw that Gruff was in his train. 
The turnkey lingered behind, and whispered 
through the grated door that the Lady of the 
Golden Ringlets would be there on the mor- 
row at daybreak. Whereat the Prince was 
much rejoiced, for whether she could aid him 
or not he would at least gaze once more on 
her beautiful features and hear again her 
silver-toned voice. So he lay there on his 
pallet thinking of her, and not on his own situ- 
ation, and at length fell asleep to dream of 
her ; and so wrapt was he in slumber that it 
was broad daylight when Gruff awakened him 
in the morning, and told him that the Lady 
of the Golden Ringlets was in the corridor 
waiting to confer with him. 

When the lady came to the grated door she 
looked at him tenderly and pityingly and shed 
a tear at his condition. “ Do you know,” she 
said, “ that you are in danger two ways — 
under the law, which may not be set aside 


The Turned Loaf* 


255 


while an offence exists against it, and because 
you are what you are ; for I knew you at the 
first, though I had never seen you, and I 
would rather that you had served me than any 
other. But do as I tell you and you shall be 
delivered from your peril.” 

“ Dear lady,” said the Prince, “ what you 
tell me to do that I shall do, and what you 
forbid me I shall forbear, not alone for my 
own safety, but since you tell me ; and if, as 
you think you do, you know me entirely for 
what I am, you know that my word will be 
kept sacred, both for my honour and for what 
I may yet be.” 

“ Then listen to me well,” said the lady. 
“You know the law, and that to put you in 
peril you must be convicted under the testi- 
mony of an eye-witness ; but there is a part 
of the law that you do not know. Before 
your trial you are entitled to have three de- 
mands granted. There are no limits to these 
demands, except the sovereignty of the King, 
your liberty before conviction, or your life 
after. Anything else you demand must be 
granted, for the King swore at his coronation 


256 Fairy Tales. 

to fulfil the law as a whole and in all of its 
parts as long as it remains a law.” 

“ Unfortunately,” observed the Prince, “my 
liberty and life are two of the things I would 
most like to ask.” 

“ Listen to me while I whisper to you the 
three things you must demand and the order 
in which they must be demanded.” 

Then she told him these : 

At the first he started, but at the second he 
exclaimed : “And may I indeed ask that and 
have it granted ?” 

At which she blushed and said : “ If you 
are content, I am content ; but,* indeed, it is 
needed for your safety.” 

“And for my life,” he cried, “for without 
that life were not worth having.” 

At this the lady blushed still deeper, and 
then she whispered the third demand, at which 
he laughed outright and took courage. Then 
she summoned her attendant, who was the 
same he had seen the day before, and after 
giving him her hand to kiss through the bars, 
departed. 

At noonday a detachment of the Royal 


The Turned Loaf* 


257 


Guard came to the prison and took Dauntless 
to the great audience hall of the King’s palace, 
where King Fiery was seated on his throne, 
attended by his ministers of state, his judges, 
and the foreign envoys. The lower part of 
the hall was crowded by all who could gain 
admittance, and among these was the landlord 
who was to give evidence against the accused. 

Prince Dauntless was placed at the bar, 
and a herald demanded his name and station. 

“ I am known here as Wanderman,” was 
the reply, “ and I am a man-at-arms, skilled 
with sword and lance, seeking employment.” 

“ Prepare then, O Wanderman, man-at- 
arms, to answer the charge against you.” 

“Stay yet awhile!” cried the Prince. “I 
claim my right, under the law of King Ter- 
rible, and I demand three things to be granted 
to me before the trial can lawfully proceed.” 

“Is that the law?” inquired the King of 
the judges. And they replied that it was, 
always the three things excepted, which have 
been before stated. “ Then,” said the King, 
“let the prisoner make his demands and they 
shall be granted one and all.” 


Fairy Tales. 


2 5 8 

“ I demand first,” said the Prince, “ that 
Prince Dauntless, in whose favour King Easy 
has abdicated, shall be at once publicly ac- 
knowledged as the independent sovereign of 
Cocagne.” 

King Fiery was at first very angry at this, 
but he was obliged to keep his word, so he 
granted the demand. 

Thereupon the herald stood forth and pro- 
claimed that King Fiery, for himself and suc- 
cessors, renounced all claim upon the kingdom 
of Cocagne, in favour of King Dauntless, 
whom he acknowledged as its independent 
sovereign. 

“ I demand, secondly, for myself,” said the 
Prince, “ the hand of the Lady of the Golden 
Ringlets in marriage.” 

King Fiery was still more angry. “ Why, 
that,” he said, “is our daughter, the Princess 
Charming ! ” 

“Nevertheless, though I knew not that,” 
returned the Prince, “ I persist in my de- 
mand.” 

Finding that he could not induce the pri- 
soner to ask otherwise, the King consented, 


The Turned Loaf* 


2 59 


but said, “ I give my consent, but I cannot 
force her inclinations. Should she say * Yes,’ 
it shall be so ; but if she refuse I have no 
power, and you must make another demand 
instead.” 

So the Princess was sent for, and to the 
King’s chagrin she appeared clad as a bride, 
and attended by a dozen young ladies, the 
noblest in the realm, and signified her assent. 
There being no help for it, they were at once 
married by the Archbishop, according to the 
form in use at that time in the kingdom. 

“ I am curious to learn,” observed the mon- 
arch, “ if the third demand can surpass the 
others in audacity.” 

“ My third is very simple,” said the Prince. 
44 1 demand that every witness who shall de- 
clare that he saw me turn the loaf shall have 
his eyes put out immediately after he has 
given his evidence.” 

41 Oh, by all means,” cried the King. “ Her- 
ald, make proclamation.” 

But after the Herald had proclaimed the 
decree and the trial went on, a difficulty arose. 
The landlord’s memory was utterly lost. He 


26 o 


Fairy Talcs* 

could not remember that he saw the prisoner 
turn the loaf ; he could not quite remember 
if the loaf had been turned or not. At every 
question he would feel his eyes and could re- 
member nothing. So the judges, after con- 
ferring together, concluded that nothing had 
been proven and acquitted the prisoner. 

“But,” exclaimed King Fiery, maliciously, 
“ stay ! The law has still another hold on you. 
There is a statute of this kingdom which pro- 
vides that whoever, not being a king or a 
king’s son, shall by any device obtain the 
hand of the King’s daughter in marriage, he 
shall die on his wedding-day.” 

“ The law concerns not me,” replied the 
Prince. “ I am not only a king’s son but a 
king, though of but ten minutes’ creation. 
Here is the Queen Charming, consort to 
King Dauntless of Cocagne, and the royal 
pair crave your fatherly blessing.” 

The two threw themselves before King 
Fiery, who looked at them in amazement and 
chagrin, but at last recovered his composure. 

“ Rise,” he said. “ King Dauntless, you 
have outwitted me so dexterously that I 


The Turned Loaf. 


261 


augur great things of your future. You will 
become a great sovereign. But I have no 
more conquered kingdoms to resign, and no 
more daughters to give. Besides, I must pre- 
vent such things in the future or I shall have 
all sorts of young men turning over all sorts 
of loaves and making all sorts of requests. 
Herald, make proclamation that the Law of 
the Turned Loaf is forever repealed, and that 
henceforth our loyal subjects may turn their 
loaves upside down with impunity, always 
provided they have loaves to turn.” 

Which the Herald did. 

King Dauntless and Queen Charming took 
possession of Cocagne, and on the death of 
King Fiery succeeded to Grimland also, and 
they reigned happily over both countries for 
many years. 


XVI. 


The Grey Wizard* 

Once upon a time there lived in a half- 
ruined mansion in Nomansland, a poor old 
knight, Sir Cedric, who had an only son, 
named Halbert. Sir Cedric was so poor that 
he had but one servant, an old man, who 
served him partly for love and partly for 
shelter, since wages he got none. One day, 
shortly after Halbert had risen to manhood, 
his father thus addressed him : 

“ My son, you are now one-and-twenty 
years of age, stout, strong, of tried courage 
and good address. I have taught you how to 
use horse, hawk, sword and lance. You even 
know more than I, for the monks of the 
Abbey have taught you how to read and 
write, while I was bred a soldier, and not a 
clerk. It is time that you went forth to seek 
your fortune, which you may find in the wars, 


263 


The Grey Wizard* 

or elsewhere, as God pleases. I give you the 
younger of our two horses, my sword, and a 
suit of chain armour, and with them a purse 
filled with broad pieces, which I have pinched 
us all for many years to save for this occa- 
sion. With these go forth, serve God, honour 
the King, and respect yourself. Here also 
are three gifts which were bestowed on me by 
the hermit who died last year in the cave in 
our woodland. He said, that properly used, 
they would make your fortune. Take them, 
with my blessing.” 

“It shall be as you command, beau sire, my 
father,” replied Halbert. “But please to in- 
form me what are the qualities of these things ; 
for they seem to be but a slender silken scarf, a 
half-worn brown cap, and a plain, short staff 
of wood.” 

“ The hermit told me,” said Sir Cedric, 
44 that the scarf, on which you see embroid- 
ered the word * Knowledge,’ not only confers 
upon its owner the power to see what is hidden 
from the sight of most men, but secures past 
all power of resistance whomever it may bind ; 
that the cap, which has the word ‘ Prudence ’ 


264 


Fairy Tales* 

upon its rim, enables its possessor to avoid 
dangers into which he might fall, and that the 
staff, which has the word ‘ Energy ’ upon it, 
will beat down any weapon opposed to it, and 
make its holder able to cope with countless 
numbers. There were two other things, the 
belt of ‘ Firm Will,’ which gave enormous 
strength, and the shoes of ‘Thought,’ by 
which the wearer was able to travel miles in a 
minute ; but these had been stolen from the 
hermit by some knave to whom he gave 
shelter. I have never tested the others ; but 
you have now the power to determine if the 
hermit’s words be true or false.” 

The next morning at sunrise, Halbert, after 
a farewell kiss from his mother, bade his pa- 
rents good-bye, and set forth upon his journey. 
It was a warm day in Spring, the air was filled 
with the scent of flowers, the sun shone 
brightly, and as the young man rode along, 
his heart was thrilled with hope and expec- 
tancy. At noonday he looked around for 
some place where he might obtain food, but 
finding none, at length stopped at a clear 
spring which bubbled from beneath the roots 


The Grey Wizard* 265 

of a huge tree. Here he ate some bread 
which he drew from the scrip fastened at his 
saddle-bow, and with a draught from the spring, 
made a meal which appeased his hunger. 
This done, he remounted ; but scarcely had 
he seated himself in the saddle, when he 
heard deep in the wood and at some distance, 
the clashing of swords, and at once rode 
straight to the sound. 

He found a gentleman, richly clad, but 
without armour, standing against a rock, de- 
fending himself with his sword against three 
masked men-at-arms. At sight of Halbert, 
the combatants paused for a moment, and 
then two of the men-at-arms assailed the new- 
comer so suddenly and vehemently that he 
had no time to draw his sword. He struck 
at them, however, with his staff, which beat 
down their swords, and with another blow he 
stretched both on the ground, bleeding and 
senseless. He who had been in such peril 
before, took new heart, resumed a vigourous 
attack, and ran the remaining man-at-arms 
through the body. Halbert dismounted, and 
speedily tied the hands of the stunned knaves 


266 


Fairy Tales* 

together with his scarf, and though these soon 
recovered their senses, they found it impossi- 
ble to break their bonds. 

“ You came in time, fair young sir,” said 
the assailed, “and have done me good ser- 
vice. I but strolled a short distance from the 
castle, unattended, when the assassins set on 
me, and kept me so busy that I had no time 
to wind my horn for aid.” 

With that he blew three piercing blasts, on 
his horn, and in a brief time these were an- 
swered by a single blast deep in the wood. 
Presently a number of knights and esquires 
rode up, and some of them unmasked the ruf- 
fians, dead and alive, and others, after return- 
ing the scarf to Halbert, rebound the living 
offenders securely. One of the knights dis- 
mounted, and gave his horse to the rescued 
man, who mounted thereon, and bade Halbert 
ride by his side. 

41 1 am Ethelred, King of Nomansland,” 
said he. 44 I do not recognise the knaves you 
overthrew, who are doubtless hired assassins ; 
but the one I slew was the Baron Ronald, 
whom I dismissed from his office of Lord 


The Grey Wizard. 267 

High Steward for robbery. But for your help 
he would have had his revenge. That staff 
of yours was well wielded. But what I most 
admire is that a scarf so slender should have 
bound such strong arms so securely.” 

The King then inquired of Halbert his 
name and degree, and when he learned whose 
son he was, declared that he remembered Sir 
Cedric as a knight good and valiant at the 
court of Ethelwolf, when he, the King, was a 
boy. He said also that he would attach Hal- 
bert to his person, and promote him according 
to his deserts ; and thus discoursing, they en- 
tered the castle. Here the lords and ladies 
learned of the exploit of the young man, who, 
being handsome and modest withal, was 
treated with favour by the Queen and Court ; 
though some of the courtiers were disposed 
to look unkindly on him as an adventurer who 
bade fair to become a favourite, and so might 
interfere with their designs. 

Among others then at Court was the Lord 
Caradoc, whose son had been slain in the 
wars, having an only daughter, the Lady Is- 
aula, who was a maid of honour to the Queen, 


268 


Fairy Tales* 

and was exceedingly beautiful. Nevertheless, 
the demoiselle was not much sought after by 
the gallants of the Court since her grandsire 
had been impoverished by the Grey Wizard, 
who was the terror of the country, and whom 
neither the King nor all his nobles had been 
able to subdue. No sooner had Sir Halbert, 
for the King had knighted him on their re- 
turn, beheld the Lady Isaula, than he fell 
violently in love with her ; and though she, 
being modest and prudent, concealed her feel- 
ings as much as she might, it was easily to 
be seen that she was pleased at the homage 
of her new admirer. 

Sir Halbert one day enquired of the senes- 
chal of the castle, what manner of man was 
this Grey Wizard, who had wrought so much 
mischief, and whom it seemed so difficult to 
overcome. 

“ Fair Sir Knight,” said the seneschal, “ I 
am only able to tell what I hear. Some be- 
lieve him to be a goblin, who defies mortal 
foes, because of his nature ; but others think 
him to be a mortal, who gains his power by 
unlawful arts. And it is averred that he has 


The Grey Wizard* 269 

the belt of Firm Will, which confers on its 
wearer enormous strength ; and the shoes of 
Thought, which give him wonderful swiftness. 
This much is certain. He seizes and carries 
away what he will, as though it were a feather ; 
and he comes and goes with the swiftness of 
lightning. It is useless to follow him, he 
can rot be overtaken ; and, it is said, that 
when he comes to the cliffs where his den is, 
that he melts into the rock and disappears, 
though no one can trace any spot of entrance. 
He not only carries off valuable things, but 
men and women, whom he holds to ransom." 

0 H ow is the ransom paid, and how much ? ” 
demanded Sir Halbert. 

“ There is no fixed sum. Those who de- 
sire one released, must leave an amount of 
gold, according to the degree of the captive, 
upon a flat stone in front of the rock. No 
one complains of his treatment under duress 
— only to the captivity. All concur in saying 
that the subterranean abode is one of untold 
delights, and, strange to say, they have day- 
light there, and blue skies, and perpetual 
Summer, which, as the place is in the heart of 


270 Fairy Tales. 

the rock, must be through the magic of the 
Wizard.” 

“ But why does he so much annoy Lord 
Caradoc ? ” 

“They say it is because when the Wizard 
first began to play his pranks, and carried 
off a rich miller who had a mill on my lord’s 
estate, that Lord Caradoc forbade them to 
pay ransom, and called out a force to catch 
and hang the offender. From that time forth 
the Wizard began to avenge himself. He 
carried away so many of the tenants and re- 
tainers of Lord Caradoc, that no man would 
hold land, and no one serve that lord ; and so 
the lands have fallen to waste, and yield no 
revenue. Recently the Wizard took his lord- 
ship’s hawk and hound and horse, and says 
he will carry off first his granddaughter, and 
next Lord Caradoc himself. That is why the 
Lady Isaula is always attended by a strong 
guard when she goes abroad.” 

On all this Sir Halbert seriously pondered, 
but think as he might, could form no plan by 
which he might avert the danger to the Lady 
Isaula. 


The Grey Wizard. 2 7 1 

One day, however, he rode forth to view 
the Wizard’s stronghold. He had on him 
the cap of Prudence, was girt with the scarf 
of Knowledge, and bore the staff of Energy, 
for without these he never went abroad. He 
gazed at the cliffs, which he found to be a 
mass of barren rock, of an oblong form, ex- 
tending either way for nearly a mile, and ris- 
ing three hundred feet or more in the air, 
from a deep thicket. Three of the sides were 
perpendicular, and the fourth, with numerous 
projections and recesses, overhung its base. 
The summit seemed to be inaccessible. At 
one spot he saw a flat stone, whereon he sup- 
posed the ransom money was laid, and near it 
was a deep recess, partly hidden by a column 
of rock. There was no aperture apparently, 
but as he peered into the place, such was the 
virtue of the scarf that he saw the traces of a 
door of rock ; but, try as he might, he could 
discover no mode of opening this. After a 
little while he turned to go homeward, and 
went to a spot in the thicket where he had 
tethered his horse. He was about to mount 
when he heard a jarring noise, and, on peer- 


272 


Fairy Talcs* 

ing through a rift in the branches he saw, 
emerging from behind the column he had just 
left, an old man clad in grey, who was of 
small stature, thickly set, and with a face of 
sinister expression. This he rightly conjec- 
tured to be the Wizard, and was about to 
sally forth and attack him, when the old man 
bounded forward, and in an instant was out 
of sight. 

Sir Halbert feared that the Wizard was 
about to carry out his threat concerning the 
Lady Isaula, and determined to intercept him 
on his return, and rescue her. So he went to 
the recess, and taking his scarf in one hand, and 
his staff in the other, hid himself behind the 
column. He had not long to wait. Presently, 
there was a whirring sound, as of the wings of 
some great bird, and the Wizard, bearing the 
Lady Isaula, who had fainted with terror, in 
his arms, plunged into the recess. The mis- 
creant espied Sir Halbert, and dropping the 
lady on the ground, sprang at the young 
Knight, who, avoiding his grasp, dealt him a 
blow upon the head which stretched him there, 
senseless and bleeding. To tie the Wizard’s 



“THE WIZARD, BEARING THE LADY ISAULA IN HIS ARMS, PLUNGED 


INTO THE RECESS 




















































































• / 





*73 


The Grey Wizard. 

arms with his scarf, and then to strip the rob- 
ber of his belt and shoes, and place these on 
his own person, was the work of a minute or 
so, and then Sir Halbert addressed himself to 
recovering the lady from her swoon. When 
she recovered, and discovered that she had 
been rescued, and by whom, her eyes ex- 
pressed her gratitude and a tenderer feeling 
and the modest glance caused the heart of her 
lover to beat with joy. 

As they stood there, with no word spoken, 
but all love and tenderness filling their minds, 
they heard the clatter of coming horse-hoofs, 
and knew that a pursuing party was rapidly 
approaching. In a short while the King and 
the nobles and knights of his Court rode up. 
Lord Caradoc embraced his granddaughter, 
and thanked Sir Halbert, whom the rest con- 
gratulated on his success. The Wizard, who 
had recovered, and whom the party rebound, 
restoring the scarf to its owner, now spoke. 
He reminded them that the interior of the 
rock was not accessible, save through him, 
and offered to release the captives therein if 
his life was spared and his liberty given, but 


274 


Fairy Tales* 

not otherwise. To this proposition the King 
was averse ; but there seemed no other way, 
and the Wizard chuckled over his expected 
liberation. Sir Halbert craved that they 
would wait awhile, and proceeded to more 
narrowly inspect the fissures which he believed 
marked a rocky door. Presently he saw a 
small projecting fragment of rock, and press- 
ing it, it moved a spring, and the door fell 
back on its hinges. A long passage was re- 
vealed, into which Sir Halbert, followed by a 
number of the younger knights, entered. It 
soon led them to the interior, and there they 
found an open space, surrounded by a huge 
rocky wall, of varying thickness. Here was 
an arid spot, and a few mean huts, which, by 
the magic of the Wizard, were made to seem 
to his captives to be a beautiful garden and 
magnificent palaces. A number of prisoners 
came to meet and thank their rescuers. The 
retainers of the Wizard poured forth and 
commenced a furious attack on the intruders ; 
but the staff of Sir Halbert did its office, and 
they were beaten down one after the other, 
and secured by the men-at-arms, who had ar- 


275 


The Grey Wizard* 

rived and entered the place. They were 
speedily followed by the King and the rest, 
Lord Caradoc and the Lady Isaula having 
been sent back under a guard. 

The Wizard was speedily condemned and 
justly punished for his crimes, and the rock, 
and the treasures which the Wizard had ac- 
cumulated, were given to Sir Halbert ; and 
sufficient territory around the rock was added 
by the King to make it a large estate sufficient 
for his rank, for he was created Lord Rend- 
Hiff, and made Lord High Steward. But 
though the young man received the land and 
the title with all gratefulness, he would not 
retain treasure which was ill-gotten. So he 
caused the money to be returned to those 
who had paid ransom, and all stolen goods to 
be restored ; and as there was still some coin 
left in the Wizard’s coffers, he distributed that 
among the poor. What became of the five 
wonderful things he had I know not, but the 
chronicles of Nomansland show how the new 
Lord Rendcliff sent for his parents to share 
his good fortune, and how he married the 
Lady Isaula, and on the death of her grand- 


276 


Fairy Tales* 

father, succeeded in her right to the title and 
lands of Lord Caradoc, and how in a war 
which broke out shortly after, he won renown 
for his feats of arms, and how he lived with 
his wife long and happily. 


xvn. 


Runphast. 

Once upon a time, when Topsyturvy was 
king of the Antipodeans, and Upsidedown 
was his prime minister, there lived a young 
man at the capital city of Bottomupp whose 
name was Runphast. Although born and 
bred in the place, some of his habits were dif- 
ferent from those of the people around him. 
Other people there bought all their views and 
feelings ready-made from Red Tape, who was 
opinion-maker to the Royal Family, and who 
furnished correct notions upon all subjects at 
so much per yard, all warranted of an ortho- 
dox pattern, and sufficient to wear a life-time. 
Runphast happened one day accidentally to 
make an opinion, while he was engaged on 
something else, and was so tickled at it, that 
he began to make all his opinions for himself, 
to the inconvenience of monopoly, and the 


278 


Fairy Tales* 

horror of his betters. From opinions, he 
went to deeds, and began to do what no one 
else did, and not to act as other people acted. 
For one day he actually discovered that he 
could not only run with his feet, but so swiftly 
as to leave the fleetest greyhound behind him. 
He at once took advantage of this gift, and 
even did more. While every one else walked 
about head downwards, and with his legs in 
the air, Runphast persisted in using his feet 
to walk with, and in going about his business 
with his head uppermost. He carried this 
singularity farther. He wore shoes on his 
feet instead of his hands, and in lieu of carry- 
ing his hat after the fashion of an Antipodean, 
placed it on his head, to the great scandal of 
all good citizens, and to the manifest injury of 
public morals. No remonstrance availed with 
him. His good old mother implored him to 
walk upon his hands like other people, and 
not to break her heart by conduct which bor- 
dered on lunacy. His tender father gave him 
two or three sound floggings for his indeco- 
rous behaviour, to which corrections he sub- 
mitted since he could not avoid them, but 


Runphast* 279 

persisted in his wicked ways. He was 
laughed at by the grown people, while the lit- 
tle boys, filled with as much zeal for good 
manners as their seniors, followed him in 
crowds through the street, whooping and yell- 
ing at his heels. Ridicule had no more effect 
than entreaty and the rod. He still walked 
with his legs, and held his head erect in the air. 

At length he was summoned before the 
authorities, who informed him that he must 
not defy public sentiment, and violate the 
time-honoured customs of the realm. The 
mayor of the town, who was a gentleman with 
an air of authority and a red nose, told him 
plainly that he must reform, or leave the 
country, under penalty of being locked up in 
the Turnoverdale Lunatic Asylum. He took 
his Worship at his word, shouldered his knap- 
sack, and set out on his travels in search of a 
country where people used their feet tojvvalk 
with, and kept their brains free from super- 
fluous blood by elevating the head above the 
other parts of the body. 

It was two days before Runphast came to 
the boundary of Antipodea, attended on his 


28 o 


Fairy Talcs* 

journey by the hooting and pelting of the 
polite populace, who sent him their parting 
compliments of stones and curses as he passed 
over the line. Here he entered upon a bare 
and stony desert, which it took him a day, 
swift as he was, to cross. By nightfall, he 
came to a pleasant stream, beyond which, at 
the distance of a few miles, he could see the 
turreted walls and glittering roofs of a large 
city. Near him was a low hut at the side of 
the stream, to which he proceeded in search 
of food and shelter. As he was about to 
enter, he stumbled and nearly fell against 
something, and on looking down saw it was 
the body of a man who was crawling appar- 
ently on all fours. 

41 What do you mean?" growled this per- 
son, “by trying to mount over a man at his 
own door-step ?” 

Runphast apologised by saying that he had 
not observed him. 

44 If you had been going about like other 
people,” said the other, 44 instead of hopping 
like a kangaroo, you wouldn’t have disturbed 
me. What do you want ? ” 


Runphast. 281 

“ I would like to obtain something to eat, 
and a place to sleep,” replied Runphast. 

“ Hospitality is the first of the virtues — en- 
ter, and repose yourself.” 

Runphast made his way with some difficulty 
through the door, which was only four feet 
high, into an apartment in which he could 
barely stand upright. There were no chairs 
in the room, but there were an abundance of 
long, narrow cushions, on one of which he 
seated himself, his companion prostrating his 
form on his hands and knees upon another. 

“ Pray, sir,” enquired Runphast, after a 
pause, “can you tell me two things — one, 
what is the name of the city we can see from 
the door, and the other, why you go about 
on all fours, instead of walking erect ? ” 

“ Certainly,” replied the other ; “ but first, 
what is your name?” 

“ Runphast.” 

“ Very good. Mine is Go Slo. The city 
is named Phoarpheet, and it is the capital of 
the great and enlightened country of Quad- 
rupedia. I go this way because it is the 
proper mode of progression among all civilised 


28 2 


Fairy Tales* 

peoples, as it is among all the nobler animals. 
And now, let me ask you a question. Why 
do you, who have apparently as strong arms 
as need be, go about like a goose, without in- 
deed the excuse of a goose, who can do no 
better.” 

Runphast was astonished at this question, 
and after a little pause of embarrassment, 
said — 

“ Really, I don’t know ” 

“ I thought so,” said the other, interrupting 
him. “ Ignorance is as much the parent of 
bad habits as intention. However, before 
supper is served, let me give you a caution. 
In entering Phoarpheet, I would advise you 
not to continue the singularity you have be- 
gun. The people might possibly tolerate 
you as a harmless lunatic ; but you might 
chance to come before his Gracious Majesty, 
our sublime Ruler, the great King Bah Boon 
himself, and if you were to rear yourself on 
one end then, after the queer way I saw you 
do to-night, he would punish you smartly for 
such a gross breach of etiquette.” 

Runphast thanked his host for his friendly 


Runphast. 283 

counsel, which he promised to observe, and 
Go Slo, crawling to a cupboard in the corner, 
brought out a plate containing biscuits, a 
ewer with milk, and two flat pans, which he 
filled from the ewer, and placed between his 
guest and himself. Runphast, on being asked 
to fall to, ate a biscuit, and then raised the pan 
to his lips, as he sat, and drained its contents. 

Go Slo laughed immoderately, rolling over 
and over his cushion in a fit of mirth. 

“ I really beg your pardon,” he said, after 
he had somewhat recovered his gravity, “ but 
to see you assume such a position got the 
better of my courtesy. Why don’t you lie 
flat on your belly as I do, and, in that grace- 
ful posture, resting yourself on your elbows, 
raise the pan thus ” — and he suited the action 
to the words — “ and quench your thirst like a 
gentleman ? 

“ You see,” he continued, “ how natural as 
well as how elegant is the recumbent position 
for refreshment as well as repose. Thus, too, 
your food is easily digested. Fancy an ani- 
mal taking its food with its forefeet as you 
had them, straining its stomach out of the 


284 


Fairy Talcs* 


natural position. There is no horse but what 
might teach you this. Even a goose would 
not bring its back to the perpendicular as it 
swallowed its corn. Still, I do not reproach. 
I set it down to error in your training.” 

Runphast apologised for his breach of 
courtesy, and took the rest of his food after 
the fashion prescribed. 

After supper the two, reposing upon their 
cushions, with backs up, and the forepart of 
each body resting upon the elbows, entered 
into conversation. Runphast, at the request 
of his entertainer, gave his history, and de- 
scribed the manners and customs of the Anti- 
podeans. 

“ Really,” observed Go Slo, when the story 
was over, “ the world is peopled with singu- 
larly barbarous races. I thought your folly 
in walking upon your hind legs, to be singular 
and disagreeable ; but when I think of men 
walking with their heads down, your conduct 
looks decorous through comparison. We 
have some people in a neighbouring realm — 
people partly civilised at that — who have as 
odd customs too, though different from yours ; 


Runphast, 285 

so I can readily credit your story. However, 
you have come to a country where men have 
reached the highest point of civilisation, and 
you will learn much by observing what such 
people say and do.” 

They soon retired to rest, and Runphast 
slept soundly till morning, when, after break- 
fast, they both started <or the city of Phoar- 
pheet, the host kindly lending his guest a pair 
of hand-shoes to wear on the occasion. Of 
course their mode of progress was after the 
prevailing fashion, so that Runphast, when 
they entered the city, found himself exceed- 
ingly fatigued. 

It appeared that it was a feast-day, and all 
Phoarpheet was in commotion. It was the 
birthday of the lovely princess Mun Kee, the 
only daughter of King Bah Boon, who was in 
a month’s time to be married to the venerable 
monarch Rangatang, who swayed the potent 
sceptre of Simialand. As her royal father 
and mother were about to lose her, they all 
at once became very fond of her, and instead 
of averring that she was the plague of their 
life, as they had hitherto done, got up all sorts 


286 


Fairy Tales* 

of entertainments for her delight, and to en- 
hance her value in the eyes of her bridegroom. 
The air was noisy with the clanging of bells 
and the booming of cannon, flags fluttered 
from spire, pinnacle and balcony, and great 
crowds hurried from all sides to the public 
square, where a large stage was erected for 
the Royal Family, before whom all kinds of 
mountebanks were to give exhibitions of their 
skill. With the rest of the crowd were Run- 
phast and Go Slo, eager to secure a good 
place, which at last they obtained in the very 
front row of wooden benches that had been 
erected for the common peoples’ use. 

In a short while the sound of trumpets was 
heard, and then the King, on his hands and 
knees, came forward, leading the Princess, 
also in the same position, and followed by 
the Queen. When these had reposed them- 
selves upon their cushions of purple velvet, 
the sports began. 

Runphast was very much interested at what 
he saw, especially as every performer, so 
soon as he had gone through his tumblings, 
contortions, or whatever was his special line, 


Runphast. 287 

Invariably brought himself back to his old 
position of allfours. One tough and springy 
little fellow, who twisted himself into all con- 
ceivable shapes, especially attracted our hero’s 
attention, and eager to see him better, Run- 
phast raised himself at length and leaned for- 
ward. At this there was a great commotion, 
followed by hisses and groans. Runphast 
looked around to discover the cause of the 
uproar, which kept increasing until it awoke 
the attention of the King. 

The Princess Mun Kee observed it. 

“ La, sire ! ” said she to her royal father, 
and as she spoke, she blushed and hid her 
head behind her fan, “ if there isn’t a man 
standing on his hind legs. He quite makes 
me ashamed.” 

“What!” cried the King, in a voice of 
thunder, “ in our very presence. Guards, 
drag that scoundrel here ! ” 

In an instant Runphast was seized by a 
dozen of loyal hands, and thrust at the foot of 
the royal balcony. 

“ What does this audacious conduct mean ?” 
inquired the King. “ Why do you stand on 
your hind legs before the world ?” 


288 


Fairy Tales* 


“ If it please your Majesty,” said Runphast, 
“ I stand so because it is the proper position 
for a man ? ” 

“ A traitor ! ” shouted one part of the audi- 
ence. 

“ A madman ! ” exclaimed another. 

“ Why, so he may be,” said the King. “ J us- 
tice forbid that we should hold a lunatic to a 
strict responsibility. Let our leading physi- 
cians inquire at once into the soundness of his 
mind.” 

Thereupon, twenty-four learned members 
of the faculty of physic advanced upon Run- 
phast. Some of them felt his pulse and ex- 
amined his tongue ; others pounded him on 
the chest ; a portion applied one end of a tube 
to his body and the other ends to their ears ; 
a few examined the pores of his skin with 
magnifying glasses ; and others again opened 
his mouth and inspected his throat by means 
of looking-glasses. After a time, they gave 
their opinions on his case — twelve of them 
declaring that his mind was sound enough, 
though he was devoid of judgment, and 
twelve averring that he was as mad as a March 


Runphast. 289 

hare a hare in that country always being 
afflicted with lunacy in that part of the year 
lying between the last day of February and 
the first day of April. 

The King was rather puzzled at first 
with this difficulty ; but he got rid of it in a 
rather royal way. 

44 If he be a traitor he is of no use to the 
realm,” said he ; 44 and if a madman, of no 
use to himself. In either case, we had better 
get rid of him. Tie him to a horse's back, in 
the position he seems to court, and drive him 
outside of the kingdom.” 

So they set Runphast on a horse, with his 
feet tied beneath its belly, and with shouts, 
and blowing of trumpets, and clanging of 
bells, and booming of cannons, started him on 
his journey. The affrighted beast gave a 
jump and set out on such a gallop that in a 
few minutes he was at the desert again, over 
which he ran furiously, though in a different 
direction from which the rider had come. 
The beast kept on his course until nightfall, 
when he came to a stop from sheer fatigue, 
just on the edge of a fertile country. Run- 


290 


Fairy Tales* 

phast barely managed to reach down and cut 
the thongs that fastened his feet, when the 
horse reeled and fell. Runphast threw his 
feet upwards and came to the ground with 
little hurt, on one side, as the fatigued animal 
rolled over on the other. 

Runphast arose to his feet, and looked 
around him. He saw a light at a distance — 
the sun having just set — and made toward it. 
It proceeded from the window of a mansion, 
situated in the centre of what appeared to be 
a flower garden. He entered an enclosure by 
a wide gate, which gave way as he pushed it, 
and when he had passed, closed after him. 
Proceeding up a finely gravelled path, he soon 
arrived at the great door of a large and appa- 
rently stately palace, at which he knocked. 
The door was opened by a servant, who de- 
manded his name and business. 

Now Runphast reflected a moment, and as 
modest bearing and a quiet demeanour had 
gained him nothing as yet, decided on trying 
the effect of a little arrogance and assumption. 
So he said, 

“ Whose dwelling is this?” 


Runphast. 29 1 

“It is the country mansion of the Lord 
Whirligig, who is here to entertain some 
guests, and is now at the banquet.” 

“ Inform him that the Marquis Runphast of 
Antipodea, Count of Naccount, Baron of 
Spondulicks, and Lord Nozoo, on his travels, 
has been thrown from his horse near his 
grounds, and requests repose and refresh- 
ment.” 

The servant bowed, showed him a seat in a 
side chamber and then turned heels overhead 
by a succession of somersaults, reached a door 
at the head of the apartment, through which 
he disappeared. 

“Certainly,” said Runphast to himself, 
“ that fellow is what half the doctors of 
Quadrupedia pronounced me to be.” 

He had no time to reflect farther ; since in 
an instant the servant returned, in the same 
way he came, and said — 

“ I have orders to conduct your Lordship to 
the presence of my noble master.” 

And performing the same gymnastic feats 
as before, he conducted him to the great 
door, which he threw open, announcing in a 
loud voice — 


292 


Fairy Talcs* 

“ The high born and mighty nobleman, my 
Lord Marquis Runphast.” 

The apartment into which Runphast was 
so ceremoniously ushered, was lofty, and 
elegant in its structure and appointments. 
At the head of a banqueting table, with two 
guests on one side and three on the other, 
sat a venerable person in a snowy beard and 
long white locks, who rose as he entered, and 
with an agility that would have done credit to 
a professional acrobat, turned a couple of 
somersaults, and alighted on his feet just be- 
fore Runphast. 

“ Permit me,” said this venerable person, 
“to welcome you, my Lord Marquis, to my 
mansion, and to beg of you to occupy the va- 
cant seat at my table. I have already sent 
servants in pursuit of your runaway steed." 

With that he led him to the table, and in- 
troduced him to the remainder of the friends. 
Each of these, as his name was pronounced, 
turned a back somersault over his chair, and 
then a forward one back to his seat in a man- 
ner eminently graceful. 

The moment after, supper was served. 


Runphast. 293 

Every attention was paid to Runphast, and 
during the progress of the meal, the Lord 
Whirligig made some polite inquiries about 
affairs in Antipodea, which Runphast an- 
swered. 

At length, after the cloth had been re- 
moved and the wine was on the table, Run- 
phast ventured to inquire why the servants, 
instead of walking out of the room, or in, 
turned themselves over and over in such a 
curious way, to the great peril of the dishes 
they bore. 

“ Such, my Lord Marquis,” answered his 
host, “ is the custom of the realm, which has 
prevailed for many years, and is not likely to 
be ever changed.” 

“ May I inquire if there were any particular 
reason for it at the beginning?” inquired 
Runphast. 

“ Certainly,” said the other. “ Many cen- 
turies ago this realm was infested by place- 
hunters — people who desired to hold office at 
the hands of the sovereign. They instituted 
a sort of game they called politics, and to be 
perfect in this, it was necessary that every one 


294 Fairy Tales* 

engaged in it should be able to suddenly put 
his heels over his head at a particular stage of 
the game. By great labour this singular class 
of people were rooted out. King Overanover 
the Twenty-first gave it the finishing stroke 
by ordaining that no office-holder should re- 
ceive a salary, and that all official stealing 
should be done by members of the Royal 
Family. He also issued a decree that the 
turning of somersaults should be general, and 
no longer confined to a particular class. Since 
that time no one is allowed to go around in 
any other way, although the rigour of this rule 
is relaxed in favour of distinguished strangers 
like yourself, who, it is considered, have not 
had an opportunity to acquire the polite art 
of flip-flapping to perfection.” 

“ But do you not find all this kind of thing 
fatiguing ? ” 

“ Not more, I fancy, than your mode of get- 
ting along. Habit and practice make any- 
thing easy; and, if not, fatigue is a small 
price to pay for a motion that is both elegant 
and vigorous — a mode of progression gratify- 
ing to the eye, and according to the canons of 


Runphast* 295 

a perfect taste — something that is inexpressi- 
bly dear to the lover of the picturesque and 
beautiful ; and in good taste, and a love of 
the picturesque and beautiful, we flatter our- 
selves that no country can compare to the 
land of the Flip-flaps.” 

To all of which Runphast replied by a bow, 
having no other reply to make. 

Supper over, and the revel of the evening 
being closed, a servant with a candle in each 
hand, who turned over and over without ex- 
tinguishing the lights, ushered him to his 
sleeping chamber, where he soon fell asleep. 

In the morning, he met his host at the 
breakfast table. There, after exchanging the 
customary compliments of the morning, the 
Lord Whirligig said : 

“ As I told you last night, my Lord Mar- 
quis, the rigour of the rule which forces every 
one to throw his heels over his head is re- 
laxed in favour of distinguished strangers. 
But some knowledge of the polite art of flip- 
flapping is indispensable, if one desires to 
enter society, and associate with well-bred men. 
I shall, therefore, lend you my valet, who is as 


296 Fairy Tales* 

accomplished in this desirable art as his bet- 
ters. A course of lessons from him will soon 
enable you to turn and fall on your feet, either 
at the place you started from, or as far for- 
ward as you desire.” 

Of course, Runphast acknowledged the 
favour, and accepted the considerate offer with 
thanks. He set himself at work, and under 
the guidance of the learned lacquey, he was 
soon enabled to throw somersaults backwards 
and forwards with a commendable degree of 
elegance and precision. So soon as this was 
announced to Lord Whirligig, and he was 
satisfied by his own eyes of the fact, he con- 
gratulated his guest upon his acquisition, 
and proposed at once to present him at Court. 

Arrayed in a court suit, which consisted of 
a jacket — all tail coats interfering with the 
polite art of flip-flapping, and being held to be 
a sinful waste of cloth in their skirts — a laced 
waistcoat and knee-breeches, our hero and 
his noble friend made their way to the royal 
palace. From the carriage, as they were 
slowly drawn along, Runphast beheld the 
street full of foot-passengers, who turned over 


Runphast. 297 

and over, either with great speed— these were 
people hurrying along on business, or with 
slowness and deliberation — those were per- 
sons who were taking a promenade for the 
sake of the air. The scene was a novel one, 
and drew forth Runphast’s admiration. 

King Overanover the Ninety-fourth was a 
remarkably gracious monarch, and there was 
something in the air or manner of Runphast 
that impressed him favourably. So after pre- 
sentation he said : 

“ I am delighted to welcome a nobleman so 
elegant and accomplished to my Court, and 
should be glad if I could induce him to be- 
come my subject, and enter my diplomatic 
service.” 

Runphast bowed low, and tendered^ his 
services in any way that they could be made 
available by the king of the Flaps-flaps, who 
inclined his head in acknowledgment, and 
expressed in words and manner his gratifica- 
tion. 

The next day the Marquis Runphast re- 
ceived letters as Envoy Extraordinary and 
Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of 


298 


Fairy Tales* 

Spinaround the First, King of the Tetotums, 
kissed hands upon his appointment, and as 
the occasion was urgent, set out immediately 
on his journey by post to the City of Wheela- 
bout. 

Now, every traveller who has ever visited 
Weelabout, is perfectly aware of the peculiar 
custom of its inhabitants, and it is hardly nec- 
essary to tell my readers that the Tetotum 
people, instead of going head downwards, 
like the Antipodeans, or by ground tumbling, 
like the Flip-flaps, make their way through 
the world by each of them spinning on one 
leg, like a peg-top, or an opera-dancer. In- 
deed, when they meet they salute each other 
by standing on the left heel, and on that as a 
pivot, wheeling round and round, holding the 
right leg at right angles with the body, until 
they make three distinct revolutions. 

Of course his Excellency, the new Flip-flap 
minister, in order to ingratiate himself with 
the people, and flatter the Court of Tetotum, 
span himself into the presence of King Spin- 
around, and pirouetted his way through the 
polite circles of the metropolis, So success- 


Runphast. 


299 


ful was he in this, and so popular did he be- 
come, that nothing was soon talked of, or 
hardly thought of, but the ease, grace and 
courtly manners of his Excellency, the Mar- 
quis Runphast. The young bucks of the 
day sported Runphast coats, Runphast hats 
and Runphast neckties ; and his Excellency 
on one occasion having, by accident, put on 
an old blue coat which had been used as a 
travelling dress, and, by the combined influ- 
ence of rain and sun, had changed its colour to 
a dingy grey, an enterprising manufacturer 
had a large amount of unsalable white silk 
dyed to match it, and under the name of Run- 
phast grey, sold it all off among the ladies of 
fashion at such enormous prices that he was 
soon able to retire from business on a hand- 
some fortune. 

Nor was his Excellency less fortunate in his 
diplomatic business. Gifted by nature with a 
large amount of impudence, with an unpar- 
alleled cool assurance, and with the power of 
concealing his thoughts under vague phrases 
and unmeaning words, he was soon able to con- 
clude a treaty which gave the Flip-flaps all the 


300 


Fairy Tales* 

essential points so long in dispute, and at the 
same time satisfied the statesmen of Tetotum 
that they had completely over-reached the dex- 
terous and bland ambassador. Sometime after 
this triumph of his skill, just as he was con- 
gratulating himself that he had secured the 
perpetual favour of the monarch he served, he 
was thunderstruck by receiving letters of re- 
call, borne by the hands of his successor, the 
Lord Whirligig. 

His venerable friend^ was profuse in his 
expression of sorrow at this unfortunate turn 
of affairs, and after he had been presented, 
and Runphast had had his audience of leave, 
explained the cause. It appeared that in- 
formation had been received from Antipodea 
that Runphast was no marquis at all, but a 
mere adventurer, who had been forced to 
leave his country in consequence of having 
outraged her sentiments of propriety by bold 
and traitorous invasions of her time-honoured 
customs. 

“In fact,” said Whirligig, “though I don’t 
believe a word of the slanders, you are in 
great personal danger. Our gracious sover- 


Runphast, 301 

eign is so much incensed at the double deceit 
he is convinced you practiced toward myself 
and him, that he has ordered me to demand 
your formal arrest as a state prisoner by the 
Tetotum monarch — a demand I shall have the 
honour to formally present to-morrow. You 
had better escape to-night, so soon as you 
have formally turned over to me the archives 
and funds of the embassy — especially the 
funds.” 

Runphast thanked his successor in office, 
and at once acted on the advice, with the 
exception of that part relating to the funds. 
In the hurry of his departure he invested all 
the money of the legation in diamonds, and 
forgot to transfer these to his Excellency, Lord 
Whirligig, and take his receipt for them. He 
bought, on a credit of three months, the swift- 
est horse to be found, and mounting at night- 
fall, made his way to the desert in the direc- 
tion of Antipodea, where he arrived after two 
days* hard journey. 

He intended to enter his native land quietly 
enough, but was recognised, and to his great 
surprise greeted with loud hurrahs, and every 


302 Fairy Talcs, 

evidence of popular satisfaction and approval. 
To his greater surprise, he discovered that 
every one whom he saw walked upright, and 
no longer went about head down. His ven- 
erable father and mother, hearing of his arri- 
val, came out and welcomed him home. The 
explanation was simple. A new monarch had 
succeeded to the throne, who was paralysed 
in his right arm. It was impossible for him 
to use his hands in lieu of feet. The result 
was that he was forced to walk with his head 
upwards. The Court followed his example, 
and -the people followed the Court. A few 
conservative individuals maintained the old 
custom ; but a royal decree forbidding the 
former practice under pain of death, they were 
obliged to yield — though it is believed they 
walked about every morning and evening 
head downwards in the privacy of their charm 
bers. As the first innovator, and founder of 
the new order of things, Runphast was held 
in great honour. He was even, as an ex-am- 
bassador, offered a high position of state. 

But Runphast had seen the world, and had 
been taught prudence. He converted his 


Runphast. 


3°3 

stolen diamonds into cash, lived in quiet ease 
on the proceeds of his rascality, and ever after 
swam with the tide. He never made any 
more opinions of his own ; but purchased all 
he desired to use from Red Tape, who still 
conducted the old business. His popularity 
was maintained unabated till his death ; when 
a pompous funeral and a lying tombstone re- 
warded the new found prudence and time- 
serving practice of one who originally bade 
fair to be bold, independent and unhappy ; 
but who happily changed his course. 


THE END. 


LRBAg'27 








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